


What Can Be, What Will Be: Year Five

by 30KEWNE



Series: What Can Be, What Will Be [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Angels, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, F/M, Good Severus Snape, James Potter Bashing, Marauders' Era, Not Canon Compliant, Original Character(s), Physical Abuse, Powerful Severus Snape, Wordcount: 50.000-100.000, mentions of rape/non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2018-12-20 15:23:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 59,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11923734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30KEWNE/pseuds/30KEWNE
Summary: Severus Snape has just been given a proposal to join the Death Eaters. Desperate to escape his terrible home life, feelings of loneliness and weakness, he seems strongly compliant to do so. At the same time, he realizes that going through with this offer may very well cost him his childhood friend, and the first person to ever show him any kindness, Lily Evans. Upon this revelation will Severus go through with joining the Death Eaters, but lose the person he loves dearly?   Will he fight for the Darkness in the upcoming war, or will he say no, and fight for the Light alongside Lily instead? WILL NOW BE A MULTI-PART SERIES





	1. Prologue: Considering the Offer

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first fan fiction so I deeply apologize if it isn't the greatest of quality. I am always open to people's opinions and I only ask one thing: please refrain from rudeness or negativity. Updates will be slow because I have college starting in just a couple days but I will always be sure to update whenever I get the chance to do so I will never abandon my fan fictions so you will not have to worry about that they might just be put on hold for a while if I get too busy to write.

August 1, 1975

Severus Snape sits alone in his room in his house on Spinner's End, thinking about the offer he was made at the end of the previous term. It has been two months since the proposal of joining the Death Eaters, and of training with Avery and Mulciber. Two months, and he still has not made his final decision. He has until September 1st, that much he was told before departing for the summer holidays. They mentioned power and glory: two very things he has desired for many years. He has long thought of himself as lonely, with the only exception being his childhood friend, Lily Evans. But he also thinks of himself as weak. Weakness brought on from his less-than-grand home life, as well as being a constant target for the torment of his longtime enemies, James Potter and Sirius Black.

He strongly believes that he would do well because of his passion for the Dark Arts; he even went so far to create a particularly nasty Dark curse of his own, Sectumsempra. He has intended to use it on Potter and Black one of these days, but they always seemed to have the element of surprise. It’s as if they’re waiting for him around every corner, their "pranks" becoming excessively nastier with each passing day. He considers for some time all of the good that he would get from of accepting this offer. Through joining the Death Eaters, he could finally be something to someone, and he would no longer be weak. Worries about people like Potter and Black would become a thing of the past.

Lately Lily, his only true friend, and the one he has loved since the very beginning, has not seemed to want to help him out nearly as much as she has in the past. She still despises Potter and Black for how they treat the person who told her all about the existence of magic, and the one who became her very first magical friend. However, she disapproves of nearly everything he has come to know and love. She dislikes the Dark Arts, and she objects to his contact with Avery and Mulciber.

"There is something not right about those two. The things they say and do are horrible," her words have echoed in his mind more than once.

Severus has had enough of constantly being viewed as an outcast- Like he could have helped this hellhole that he is forced to call a life! Lily has other friends now, where he still has only her. They, like everyone else, saw him as a lost cause from the very moment the sorting hat was placed on his head and called out the word "Slytherin." But he just can't stop thinking of all the potential he could have if he agrees to the offer. He takes all this into account for the first time in the two months. He can’t believe how much time he has already wasted, and makes his final decision. He will join the Death Eaters. It will prove the escape necessary to finally get himself out of this awful situation- A situation that he has desired to get himself out of for nearly his entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thank Valardoheris for assisting as a beta as well. Your help is greatly appreciated :)


	2. Revelations of the Forbidden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter of What Can Be, What Will Be. If you have any questions related to this fan fiction you can ask me in the comments and I will gladly answer.

One week later...

Severus Snape sighed as he woke up, once again, at a very early hour of the morning. It was not too surprising of an event for him though, as he was used to it by now, what with his father constantly being drunk and having major temper issues. The sun has just come to life, signaling the start of a new day. He looks over at the clock. 6:15 AM it reads. He is supposed to meet up with Lily at eleven, as he usually does a few times a week. Since making his final decision on the offer he was given, he has struggled on exactly how to break the news to her. He knows that she will be very upset at the choices he is going to make, but he has long since lost his faith in any other method of getting away from his terrible life. He is tired of constantly living in fear of waking up in the morning to his good for nothing father deciding he wants to take the belt to his back, like he always did when he wanted to let out his anger. He is tired of falling victim to prats like Potter and Black, and having the people that are supposed to be helping him look the other way; threatening him with expulsion if he talks about the fact that they nearly killed him- Or at the very least, nearly cost him his humanity only months ago. As much as he wants to respect Lily's wishes of not sinking to that level, he could never make her understand exactly what he has to live with. She has an outright bitch for a sister, but her parents are very lovely people. Lily's family were the first people to ever show him kindness in his whole life, with his mother being too scared to do so, and his father being an abusive drunk. His father has resented him since shortly after his magical abilities manifested for the very first time, when he accidentally lit a basket of clothes on fire. He looks over at the clock again, 7:25 AM.

"It's going to be a long day," he thinks to himself.

In just a few weeks he will be going back to Hogwarts to start his 5th year. However, that news is not as great to him as it would be to others, as his life there is not much better. He will be leaving torment to be greeted with more torment. At least there would be an end to his father's brutal beatings. Often times his father would either get tired and pass out, or he would decide that Severus had been through enough for the night. But there will never be an end to Potter and Black's constant tormenting. He even sometimes considers it worse than his father's beatings, as those only happen in his house, and away from everyone's line of sight; the tormenting at Hogwarts would be done in front of the whole school if Potter and Black got lucky enough. Their bullying has only gotten worse this year with James Potter developing feelings for Lily and trying to impress her. His arrogance, however, prevents him from seeing that Lily is not in any way amused, or impressed, by the bullying- Which Severus knows is only going to cause Potter to take it further. He only saved Severus from the werewolf attack to save himself. If he even remotely cared about Severus' wellbeing he would have stopped bullying him years ago, and especially after that incident.

"Avery and Mulciber. They can get me what I need. While Lily gives me support and kindness, those just won't do it anymore. I need to dig myself out of this hell hole."

Severus has never felt more sure of wanting something before. He can't resist thinking of what he will gain come September 1st, when he tells Avery and Mulciber that he will accept their offer. Severus decides he has had enough just sitting around his room. He takes one last look at the clock and sees he still has just over 3 hours before he is supposed to meet up with Lily, but he decides that he would rather wait for her there instead. He throws his shoes and socks on and walks out the door- To which his mother doesn't even notice, his father passed out on the broken-down couch like always. He walks to his and Lily's tree, and opens one of his books, and starts reading, which is his favorite thing to do when all he wants is to kill time. It helps him take his mind off things. Before he knows it, those three hours have passed, and he hears Lily approaching. He takes in her beautiful red hair and green eyes, as he always does, when he sees her.

"Hey Sev," she says in her usual sweet voice, "Enjoying the remainder of your holiday?"

"Nothing much has happened, if that is what you mean. Same stuff new day," he responds with a slight edge in his voice.

"Is something wrong?" she asks, now concerned.

"No, nothing is wrong. Not a single thing," he says, now not even looking at her.

Lily, now slightly suspicious, asks, "You aren't considering accepting that offer you were made at the end of last term, are you? I heard them. What they are supposedly promising you- It's not going to lead anywhere good… You have to know that."

"I don't know, Lily. I really don't. If I am being honest, I lost faith in escaping what I live every day, a long time ago. Hogwarts was going to be my escape of a life of torment. I thought it was going to be from the day I met you. Then suddenly on the way to Hogwarts, James Potter and that asshole sidekick of his, Sirius Black, show up and ruin it. You do know they tried to kill me right?"

"Wait, what are you saying? I mean, yeah they are arrogant toe-rags, but I couldn't see them trying to kill somebody." Lily says uncertainly.

"Well, remember when I told you my theory that Lupin was a werewolf, and you said it was rubbish and that I was imagining it? Well, Black told me how to get past the Whomping Willow to where he goes every month. It also happened to be on a full moon night when I did it, and I saw him myself Lily. Lupin was a transformed, fully grown werewolf. Had Potter not been trying to save his own ass, I would likely be dead right now. This was Black attempting to get rid of me permanently, I know it was." Severus said grimly.

"Wow. I'm sorry Sev, I didn't realize... I should have believed you from the beginning." Lily said utterly shocked.

"Lily, you can't tell anyone I told you this. Dumbledore told me flat out that I would be expelled if he finds out that I told a single soul about what happened the second I woke up,” Severus said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Lily now angry, "Are you serious? You nearly died thanks to those arrogant toe-rags who crave attention like it's water, and he threatens to expel you if you so much as breathe a word about it? That is such bullshit!"

"Yeah, tell me about it. If it were anyone else, no doubt he would be all over their case, but because they are his precious Gryffindor’s he will turn a blind eye and punish the actual victim. He likes everyone else, but thought of me as a lost cause the minute that blasted hat shouted ‘Slytherin’ to the whole school," Severus said heatedly.

"Sev, that is not true; you aren't a lost cause. I will always care for you deeply," Lily said sadly at his negative opinion towards himself.

Severus and Lily sat there in silence for a while. He was thinking over what she had just said about him. Even though he knew she didn't think of him as a lost cause, it was still reassuring to hear her say that to him directly. As for his other issue, it seemed like there was two sides to him. One wanted him to join the Death Eaters, and the other was telling him that it was wrong, and he shouldn't even consider it. He has said to himself that he wants to join, and even shows some minor characteristics of Avery and Mulciber, such as their dim view of muggles. Severus has said to himself multiple times, since that day exactly a week ago, that he is fully certain that he wants to join. However, after hearing those words from Lily, yet again his confidence has fallen once more. He loved her, and he knew that for years. He knew that if anyone could talk him out of it, she could. That same part of him telling him it is wrong, wishes he would just tell her what happened, and the whole story, just so she could talk him out of it. Then again, the other part of him wants him to just give in. And then, part of him sometimes thinks he should just extinguish completely and listen to his light side, and suffer though the next two years. It is only two years after all. He just isn't sure that he can muster up the will power not to take the easy way out.

"Lily, what would you do if a part of you knew something was a bad idea, but another part of you says it isn't?" he suddenly asks her.

"Well, that depends. It depends on whether you believe deep down that you are doing the right thing or not, by doing whatever it is you think may be a bad idea. That is, what my mom has always told me, was to go with what your heart says," Lily says.

"I have to get back home soon, Lily. My father is in one of his moods, and if I stay out too late he will for sure give me hell," Severus says grimly.

"Alright Sev, just remember what I said: Go with your heart. If your heart says it's a bad idea, then don't do it. My mother is a very wise woman, and I always take her advice seriously. Its helped me get through a lot, and I know it can help you," she briefly put her hand to his before she walked off.

Severus then began his dreadful journey back home to face his father, who was in a drunken rage more often than not. He always thought he would be used to it by now, but then again, he sometimes thinks he will never be. He takes into serious consideration what Lily had said to him, and says to himself, "I seriously doubt getting away from them will be that easy, especially if they know Lily is the cause. They are fanatics, hell bent on recruiting me." Lily was his angel, and she always would be, and he knows he can't bring himself to hurt her- Making this decision, he knows, will do just that. He knows he has to think of something, and he has to do it now... He promised himself he would never hurt Lily years ago, and he will be damned if he ever breaks that promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thank Valardoheris again for beta. I have big plans for this fan fiction and with your help I will be able to make this happen :) It is always greatly appreciated.


	3. Sins of the Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here you go third chapter as promised. Sorry it took so long I haven't had the time to really sit down and write. I will probably do one or two more chapters after this one before Severus and Lily go back to Hogwarts for their 5th year. I hope you enjoy I will gladly answer any questions you have :)

Severus awoke the next morning to a letter from Lily. She had asked him to meet her in their spot once again at noon, which he realizes is about 30 minutes from now. He quickly agrees to meet her, as he also has urgent business to discuss with her, even though he knows she won't like to hear what he has to say at all. Suddenly he hears banging on the stairs coming up to his room, and his father's angry voice.

"Boy get your lazy ass down here," bellowed Tobias Snape.

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to hex him to hell and back right now," muttered Severus to himself.

Severus reluctantly walks down to the kitchen and living room with Tobias grinning evilly at him. He sees a huge mess of water and soap spilled all over the place, and Tobias says in his usual drunken voice, "Clean that up now and then get out of my sight. Hurry up!"

Severus does as he is told, but he feels his own rage starting to boil. He looks over at his mother who is doing nothing to even attempt to deter his father. He shakes his head at how much of a coward the woman has become. He heard all the stories at Hogwarts about Eileen Prince. How talented and magically powerful she was, and how much potential she had. She could have literally gone anywhere with minimum effort. He still loves his mother and feels bad for her, but at the same time he can't help but feel angry at the fact that she does nothing to help him even in the worst of times.

"Hurry up boy! I don't want to look at your ugly mug any longer than I have to!" shouted Tobias.

That was it. Severus had hit his breaking point. He stands up and faces this monster, this abomination he is forced to call his father.

"You know father; I feel bad for you. You have nothing, nor do you have anyone else in your life. You are nothing but a sad, pathetic sack of shit, so you take your anger out on your wife and son. You do it to compensate for the fact that you are probably the most inferior person breathing. You will go nowhere in life except in the hole to become food for the poor plants that have to grow near where you get planted!" Severus nearly shouted.

"Shut up!" Tobias shouts back, shoving Severus to the ground.

Severus looks up and says, "What are you going to do father? Are you going to beat me half to death like you have 100 times before? Are you going to finally grow a pair of balls and finish the job you’ve desire to finish for so much? I decided a long time ago that I am not afraid of you. You are nothing. There is much worse going on in the world right now. Things that your worst nightmares would never even touch."

Severus groaned as Tobias aimed a hard kick to his ribcage. Nothing new, but that didn’t make it any less painful.

"You're gonna get it now boy! You should have kept your mouth shut!" roared Tobias.

"Go ahead you bastard. You can beat me as long as you want to. It won't change the fact that every word I said is true," Severus responded coldly.

Tobias kicked his son multiple times. Severus groaned after each kick, his ribs were already starting to bruise, and he was sure that at least one was cracked or broken. It looked like he was going to have to use that extremely tricky healing potion he had brewed and then bottled before he left Hogwarts for the summer break. Tobias kicked Severs once more, this time in the face. He felt his nose break, and blood immediately started pouring from it. Tobias then ripped Severus' shirt off revealing a scarred back from many cuts and whips.

"Time for the best of the best," Tobias says with a sinister smile.

He then takes his belt off and whips Severus on the back repeatedly with his belt buckle. Each whip tearing at the skin, and leaving a long and bloody wound in the process. Severus uses every bit of energy he has not to cry out as he is whipped repeatedly. He would not give this monster the satisfaction. Severus is whipped for the 9th or 10th time, and then twice more, before Tobias finally let up.

"I think you've had enough for now. Get the fuck out of my sight before I change my mind," Tobias said before he went into the other room. Severus, with difficulty, climbed the stairs and grabbed his "special book" where he writes notes and planned projects. He also grabs a small clear bottle with a clear liquid in it labelled "for emergencies," and then he walks back down the stairs and out the front door. He begins heading toward his and Lily's spot to tell her what happened, as he is about a half hour late, and she is no doubt worrying about him. After limping a good 10 minutes, he finally sees the tree they always sit by. He walks slowly towards it, but falls in the process, from a loss of energy due to the injured ribs and the wounds in his back that continue to bleed freely. He gets back up, and finally reaches the tree. He takes out his special healing potion after setting his book down on the ground. He falls again, weaker than before, and he hears footsteps coming toward him. He looks up and sees Lily, the beautiful angel with red hair and green eyes, as he always called her.

"Lily... Help me," he manages to say weakly before the darkness becomes overwhelming, and takes him over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter wasn't very long. Even though what occurred in it was necessary for the story's future I have a hard time writing scenes like this so I didn't want to drag it out any longer than necessary. Also my thanks to Valardoheris as always :)


	4. Draught of Complete Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter number four. Can't believe I have gotten this far already. This is one of my longer chapters. I can't say all of them will be this long but long chapters will become more common later on in the story.

Severus awoke shortly after reaching a frantic Lily. She was standing over him crying, unsure of what to do. He points to the clear bottle that fell out of his hand and is laying in the grass a few inches out of his grip, "Lily... Get me that clear bottle; it will help me."

Lily runs over and grabs the bottle, and Severus quickly takes it, drinking all of the crystal clear liquid inside of it. He cries out as the liquid enters his system and slowly begins to heal his wounds. The rapid flow of blood has already stopped, and he has already begun to regain his strength. He manages to sit up and he looks at Lily with a look of thanks.

"Sev what happened to you?" Lily asked with a tone of sadness in her voice.

"My father,” he manages, “He was saying all kinds of insulting things to me and I got pissed off and lashed out at him. I called him a worthless sack of shit that will never mean _anything_ to _anybody_ , and that I felt sorry for the plants that have to feed off his corpse when he dies. I knew he would hurt me, and possibly even kill me, but I didn't care."

"Sev... Why would you do that knowing he would hurt you? Why would your mom just stand by and let this happen?"

"I did it to prove that I wasn't afraid of him no matter what he did! My mom is too scared to actually do anything, because if she stepped in he would beat her as well.” He paused, icily, before adding, “He would beat me even worse after, and force her to watch. Nobody else will step in to help! Nobody even looked my way when I was walking up here near to death..."

He thinks over what had just happened an hour or so ago. His wounds did indeed cut deep, deeper than they ever had before. He had never lost so much blood, so fast, from wounds inflicted by his father. It was almost like he was being slashed with an invisible sword rather than being whipped with a belt buckle. He was not sure he would have survived without his newly created potion… It allows accelerated cellular regeneration for a short time; an incredibly difficult feat, and had it gone wrong it would have been disaster. He knew it was worth the risk though, especially since it may have just saved his life today.

"Sev what was that potion? I saw how badly hurt you were, and now you aren't even bleeding anymore," Lily said with curiosity.

With a sigh, "It's a potion of my own design that I altered from a powerful pain reliever. With some experimenting I was able to turn it into an incredibly powerful healing potion of complete recovery. It can restore its drinker to full health in a matter of hours. I brewed and bottled it at the end of last term, and brought it home with me. If you want to see exactly what I did, it's in my book over there."

She grabs the book and opens it and begins to read. On the first page was the potion Severus was talking about.

_This potion, which I have altered from the most powerful pain reliever potion, I have dubbed the Draught of Complete Recovery. It does exactly what it is named; healing all non-fatal wounds in a matter of hours. It was desperately tricky to create, and especially dangerous, as the added ingredient is known to explode if used in the wrong solutions… The instructions for creation are as follows:_

_ 1\. Add the juice of a sweet chestnut tree _   
_2\. Stir clockwise for 2 minutes, and then stir counter-clockwise until the potion turns pink_   
_3\. Add 3 leaves of the gorse shrub_   
_4\. Let simmer until the potion turns green_   
_5\. Add pits from a cherry plum until the potion turns purple_   
_6\. Stir counter-clockwise until the potion turns yellow_   
_7\. Add the juice of a white chestnut_   
_8\. Let it simmer until grey_   
_9\. Add 9 pedals of Aspen Flower_   
_10\. Alternate stirring clockwise and counter-clockwise until the potion turns a bronze color_   
_11\. Add chicory root extract_   
_12\. Allow the potion to simmer until it turns a yellow-bronze color_   
_13\. Add more chicory root extract_   
_14\. Stir until the potion turns white and emits a golden vapor_   
_15\. Finally, add 2 strands of Unicorn hair. (This will increase its potency exponentially, and the potion will then turn crystal clear with a white vapor)_

"Wow, Sev! I knew you were good with potions, but successfully doing something this dangerous without disaster…? You must be a natural."

"I’ve always loved to experiment,” he told her, “I figured, why not do something like this?  Especially if it can help me or others."

Severus then remembers exactly what he wanted to see Lily for in the first place. It was to come clean about everything- Including the Death Eater business. She had suspected that he wanted to join them, but she never knew for sure. Now he was about to confirm her suspicions. This wasn't the only thing he wanted to tell her, of course, but he couldn't reveal that just yet.  Not until he was clear of the Death Eaters.

"Lily, I didn't come up here just to see you this time anyway. I actually needed to tell you some things… Things I actually regret even considering." Severus said with a trace of fear in his voice.

"What is it Sev? You can tell me anything you know that." Lily said, while putting her hand to his.

"I find it best to start at the beginning. You know Avery and Mulciber and what they stand for? Well I was going to be like that too. I was actually going to say ‘yes’ to them, and join them. But then that day last week happened, and after speaking with you, I realized that I couldn't go through with it. You were the first person to ever show me any kindness in my life, and I know that what they stand for is the exact opposite of what you want… So I decided that I am going to tell them to just stick it right where the sun doesn't shine instead.” He paused, “That isn't all either… I’ve created spells too. Not just the potion. One of the spells _is_ Dark Magic Lily. It is also in my book- It’s called ‘Sectumsempra.’ It causes deep wounds on the target, which mimic the wand's movements. The wounds inflicted by it will not heal unless the counter-curse is performed. I created it to use on Potter and Black in revenge for everything they’ve done to me."

She was shocked beyond belief upon these realizations. She has absolutely no idea what to say, only that she is glad he decided to change his mind.  It wasn’t often that people considered the consequences before venturing too far down the road of darkness…  One which most ended up unable to turn away from again. "Sev... I’m glad you realized your mistake. Anyone who goes down that road never comes back… I don't want to see that happen to you."

"Lily... There is one more thing that I want to tell you. It isn't anything bad or dark, but it can't be right now.  But you need to know that I will tell you when the time is right."

She nodded and hugged him gently, as he was still healing from his injuries. Severus hugged her back, taking in the scent of her beautiful hair. He wanted to tell her how he felt more than anything. He wanted to look into her gorgeous emerald green eyes and tell her that he loved her more than anything in the world. But he knows that he can't tell her just yet- Not until he has cut off contact with Avery and Mulciber completely. Of course he would still have to deal with Potter and Black, but fuck them, they don't matter.

They finally break apart and lay down next to one another looking up at the tree above them, just like they did when they were little. The dark days are coming, that much is known, and he wants to live the best memory of his childhood for as long as he can before the storm finally hits. He knows Lily wants to do the same. After about 3 hours of them sitting there enjoying one another's presence, Lily asks him if he wants to come back with her.

"Yeah, I don't see why not,” he tells her, “I figure its best if I don't go home for a while, at least until my father calms down. Besides, I wouldn’t mind seeing your parents since I haven't been around much this summer."

"Let's go then, you're well enough to walk from the looks of it."

The two of them rise and walk back to Lily's house, the nicest residence on the street. It was a two story house that had not a speck of dirt on the outside or inside, and as they both walked inside, Severus was immediately greeted by Lily’s mother, Violet Evans.

"It is so good to see you again, Severus!" She said with a smile on her face.  The expression quickly faded as she noticed the blood on his clothes, clearly becoming worried. She opens her mouth to ask him what happened, but one look from Lily is enough to end the query before it leaves her lips.

"Where are dad and Petunia?" Lily asks.

"They went out for the day,” Violet tells her, “They should be back in 2 or 3 hours.”

"Good thing too,” Severus thinks to himself, “I’m not really in the mood to be called a freak and gutter rat every 2 minutes."

Severus then goes over to the living room and takes his book with him. He looks at his list of spells that he’s invented, which so far consists of: _Levicorpus_ (lifts target into the air and dangles them upside down), _Muffliato_ (makes anyone nearby hear a buzzing sound), _Sectumsempra_ (creates deep wounds, cannot be healed by any means except the counter-curse), _Vulnera Sanentur_ (counter-curse to Sectumsempra. Must be sung like a song three times consecutively for it to work), and his most recent invention, _Gravis Fulguri_ (fires heavy bolt of lightning at the target). He has yet to use this one on anything specific, however, and he’s only used it once when testing it. He was tempted to try it out on his father, but didn't want to run the risk of being expelled from Hogwarts for using magic outside of school. Out in the kitchen, however, Lily and Violet were speaking quietly, so he tried to pay them no attention.

"What are we going to do?!” Violet asked her daughter, “You see the blood on his clothes...? His father is a horrible man!"

"Mom, please don't,” Lily pleaded, “I don't think he really wants to talk about it right now... If you bring it up it will just irritate him. You have to let him talk about it when he’s ready."

"Alright, I won't. But does he really want to go back there? He could stay with us you know. I don't want him to get hurt any more than he already has."

"It’s almost time to return to school, mom. I’m sure he can handle himself for another 20 days or so, but I will ask him what he wants to do.  I promise!  And soon, but not right now… Like I said, he isn't ready to discuss it with anyone else right now."

Lily joined Severus in the living room, sitting beside him on the sofa.  He immediately met her eyes, seriousness playing plainly in his voice, "I’m not going back home tonight, Lily.”

Her eyes widened in discomfort, knowing that he had overheard her conversation with her mother.  She began to protest, attempting to explain herself for the dialogue they had just had.

“I heard you in there,” he told her, not angrily, “And I want you to know that I appreciate your concern for not making me talk about it anymore. If it’s acceptable with your parents, I would grateful to sleep in the guest room tonight, and then head out tomorrow morning.” He offered her a slight smile, “I might take your mom up on her offer to stay with you next year, but as you explained to her in the kitchen, since we go back to Hogwarts soon, there really isn't any point right now."

Just then, the door opened, revealing Petunia and John Evans.

"Hello, freaks!" Petunia shouted upon seeing Severus and Lily.

"Oh great, here comes the black-haired rattlesnake," Severus said quietly, so that only Lily could hear him, barely resisting the urge to hex her- His patience from the day’s events and trials long since worn out.

 _"Petunia, that's enough!"_ John scolded. He looked over to his daughter and the familiar young man seated beside her. Upon seeing the blood on his clothes, his eyes went wide with shock, worry furrowing his brow.  His body language made it clear that he immediately was aware that something bad had happened to him, "What the hell’s happened to you, Severus?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Valardoheris once again thank you very much :) I can never say exactly how much your help is appreciated.


	5. From Hell to Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go chapter five :) I wish I could update sooner but things always tend to get in the way.

_"What the hell's happened to you Severus?"_

It was the one question he did not want to have to answer again.  He had only just recovered physically, but mentally he was still reliving the memory of his father's brutal beatings.  They always ended up the same each and every time:  First the kicking, and then the metal buckle to his back- Something that was reminiscent of a blade slicing painfully through his flesh.

"What happened to me is irrelevant," Severus replied to Lily’s father, all the while glaring at the elder Evans daughter.

"John, I don't think it's best to talk about this right now,” Violet told her husband kindly, gently pressing the crook of his arm, “He's had a rather rough day, I think it best we just leave it at that."

"I just want to know what happened to him…  Whoever did this should pay for what they've done!" John said with determination.

 _"He will talk when he is ready._  Until then, please just leave it be."

Nobody said much after that; everyone had fallen silent from the obvious tension in the room.  John was visibly angered by the knowledge that someone would hurt Severus to such a degree, but the added unwillingness of anyone to speak about the ordeal, seemed to make matters all the worse.  Seeming to understand the ill-temper of her father, as well as the uncomfortable silence settling around them, Petunia glared once more at Lily and Severus, stomping with a notable “Humph” from the room.  Even she was not so bold as to mock the pair with her usual taunts of ‘freak’ given the solemn nature of the mood, and the undoubtable punishment she would have been prone to.

"Do you really want to know what happened?" Severus asked, once the slam of Petunia’s bedroom door had been heard.

"Of course we do, Severus!  We want to help you, and make sure whoever did this pays for what they’ve done," John told him.

Severus took a deep breath, "My father's a real _bastard._ A filthy disgrace that shouldn't even be breathing...  It's been going on for as long as I can remember, really.  First it was just yelling and arguing, and then, at some point, he decided to turn his rage into something more _physical…_ He began repeatedly beating my mother.  It was some time later that he decided to try a new method…  He began beating _me_ instead; if she tried to intervene, he would hit her, and then beat me worse- Forcing her to watch.”  He shook his head, eyes momentarily lowered to his feet, “It always ends much the same every time…  He’ll kick me in the ribs, and then make a decision whether to continue kicking, or perhaps punch me in the face.  He’s broken my nose more than once.”  Pausing, he looked to each of the Evans’ in turn, as he stood before them uncomfortably, “After he nearly breaks my ribs, he removes his belt and whips me with the buckle,” at the final reveled detail, he then turned his back to John and Violet, lifting the back of his shirt to show them his scars, “There's at least twenty of them...  Some are years old, recently reopened.”

John is too shocked to say anything.   _How someone could do this to another person, let alone their own child?_  He could never even begin to understand.  The fact that this boy, one of his youngest daughter’s best friends, has been forced to deal with this his entire life is utterly mortifying.

"The way you always were-  Jumping at loud noises, your shyness, those looks of longing you sometimes gave John and I when we interacted with Lily and Petunia…” Violet Evans trailed off, shaking her head with shock and deep sadness, “I knew something wasn't right, but until today I never knew it was _this_ bad."

"He’s never said anything to me either...” Lily added sadly, “Only that his parents fought a lot _.  I never thought he was being beaten to within an inch of his life!_  He was only saved this time because of a dangerous experiment that he conducted just before fourth year ended."

"I’ve tried to tell people before,” he said coolly, “One time, I went to one of my neighbors, and I told him about what was going on.  When he tried to help, my father insisted that nothing was wrong, and he got away with it.  After that, he gave me the worst beating of my life for telling- Even worse than the one this morning.  I almost died on that occasion.  I just didn't want to enrage him more.  But after this morning, I decided that I wasn't afraid of him anymore, and I stood up to him.  It was a miracle he didn't kill me.”

"Well, we're here to help dear,” Violet told him, “You don't have to go back there, you can stay with us."

"I appreciate it, I really do, but I can't just leave my mother back there.  If I’m gone, he’ll take his rage out on her instead,” worry plagued his expression, “I can take it, but she's not as strong as I am…  He’ll kill her, Mrs. Evans.”

"So what do you plan to do?” John asked him, “Are you gonna stay there and then keep showing up on our doorstep beaten half to death?   _We care about you Severus!_  It makes me very upset that you care so little about your own safety."

"It's not that I don't care about my own safety, Mr. Evans,” Severus responded with a hint of sadness in his voice, “It’s just, I care about my mom's more…  She has been through enough in her life, and most of it’s due to that bastard.  I want nothing more than to be able to stay here with your family.  You are both very kind, and I love you both as if you _were_ my own parents-  But I can't just sit by and watch my mother die.  She wanted what was best for me, and I want what's best for her.  I have to at least try to help her."

"Sev, please just listen to them," Lily said, while putting her hand gently on his arm, "I was the one who found you, and I can't bear to find you like that again.   _What happens next time?_  Does he kill you while I sit by knowing there was something I could have done, but instead did nothing, and let you walk back into that dangerous environment? _No, that's not gonna happen!_  I am _not_ going to sit here and allow you to be that monster's punching bag whenever he feels like he needs entertainment.”

He thought for a moment, "Okay, Lily,” and then looking to both of her parents as well, “I will stay here for the rest of the summer.  I don't like leaving my mother behind, but you all do have a point.  It's not worth ending up dead when I have people who care about me as if I’m part of their family."

“Would your mother want to stay here as well?” Violet questioned, though she felt as though she already knew the answer.

“I’m not sure she could ever leave my dad…  I have no idea why, but I doubt she would.  She probably won’t even understand why I’m staying here instead- Even after all that happened this morning,” Severus then nodded his appreciation, and went upstairs to the guest room.  

He opened the door and he was surprised to see the room. There wasn't much there, but it definitely looked better than his room back on Spinner's End.  It smelled nice; a pleasant thing to walk into, unlike his own room, which always smelled rotten and foul.  He took his book and his wand, the things he had managed to bring with him, and stacked them neatly on a shelf in the corner of the room.  He then sat down on the bed, and looked out of the window at the setting sun.  He and Lily would be going back to Hogwarts soon.  For a moment he almost feels excited, until he remembers Potter and Black…  One who almost killed him last year, and the other portrayed as a hero.  The truth, in actuality, that he was only trying to save his own neck from expulsion.

"They wonder why I was tempted to go dark for a while…” Severus said to himself, “Potter and Black.  _Dumbledore's golden boys._  I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow got them out of trouble for murder…  They surely weren't punished for an attempt at such.”  An unsettling, grim thought came over him, _“They’re almost as bad as my father in some ways."_

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, along with Lily's sweet, soft voice, _"Sev?"_

Standing up, he opens the door, "It's very... _Refreshing_ in here.”

Lily smiled and then asked, "Are you okay?  I know telling my parents about what happened wasn't easy…  Especially after what you said happened years ago when you tried to tell someone."

"I'm fine, Lily.  It was nice to be able to talk about it, somehow knowing that my father won't be around to try and kill me afterwards.  My mom told me that he was a good person once. I find it hard to believe, but she had this look in her eye that told me she used to be very happy with him.  I guess sometimes I wish he was still the guy she said he was…  All I’ve ever known is his drunk and abusive self."

"You should have told me what was going on, Sev.  My parents would have been glad to help."

"Well, I was weak at the time.  The last time I tried to go to someone for help, I was nearly killed and my father got away with it.  I wanted to tell you, Lily, because you were the first person to ever show me any kindness…  Even when your sister was all too happy to spew insults at me before she had even met me.  I was just too scared to say anything to anybody.  I guess I do have one thing to thank Potter and Black for, they’ve taught me that fear and pain are not my worst enemy.  Humiliation is."

"Did I actually hear you _thanking_ Potter and Black for something?  I thought I would sooner see my sister become friendly towards me," Lily said with a slight chuckle.

"Well, I suppose they do deserve some credit for me being able to stand up to my father like I did this morning.  I wouldn't have been able to do that if they didn't indirectly teach me how to handle awful people."

"What are we going to do about the rest of your stuff, Sev?” Lily asked with a note of seriousness, “You left most of it at home."

"I figured you and I could go and get it tomorrow,” he told her, “My father wouldn't be likely to attack us both.   _Me_ on the other hand, if I step foot inside alone, there’s no doubt I wouldn’t be so lucky.”

"I will gladly go with you, Sev.  I am always happy to help you in any way that I can."

Severus glanced at the nearby clock, 9:00 PM, "I think I’m gonna get some sleep, Lily.  I've had a long day, to say the least."

"Just let me know when you’re ready tomorrow, and I’ll go with you to get your stuff," Lily said, while giving his hand a slight squeeze, before walking out of the room.

Stripping off his dirty clothing, Severus and threw his bloody, and torn shirt into the trash.  He then went to the bed and laid down.  As he fell asleep, he couldn’t help but think about Lily and her closeness.  He just wished that he knew how she felt about him, so that he could tell her how he truly feels without scaring her.  The last thing he wanted was to make it feel like he was trying to force something.

The next morning, Severus woke up at an early hour, with the sun shining brightly through his window. He looked around and was confused for a moment at the room's cleanliness, before remembering that he promised to stay at Lily's house, and not his own.  He grabbed what appeared to be a rain jacket, that looked as if it was discarded, and left in the closet.  He knows it will work, at least it’s better than a torn shirt stained with blood.  Throwing on the jacket, he grabs his wand and then heads downstairs to find everyone else already sitting at the table.

Smiling, Violet greets him, "Good morning Severus, I hope you slept well."

"Just fine, thank you, Mrs. Evans,” he tells her kindly.

 _"I'm outta here freaks, enjoy your morning,"_ Petunia snarled, walking out the door.

John shook his head with irritation, _"I've told her so many times to stop using that word..."_

"Don't worry about it dad, I'm used to it by now," Lily told him, sadly.

After they have finished eating, Severus cleared his throat, speaking up, "Lily and I are gonna go to my house to get the stuff that I left back there."

“Be careful, you two,” Violet’s eyes filled with worry, “You know what that man is capable of...  If you have to defend yourselves, don't hesitate.  I don't want either of you getting hurt.”

"We'll be fine mom,” Lily smiled, confidently, “Sev, we should get going.  The sooner we get this done, the better."

Severus and Lily walk a good distance before they finally come up to the old broken down house that Severus was forced to call a home for so many years.  They both walked inside to find Tobias Snape sitting on the couch, looking at Severus with obvious disdain.  Without a word, Severus walked past him, and up the stairs to his room.

"Well, hello there,” Tobias crooned at Lily, “What's a nice, pretty little thing like you, doing with a brat like him?"

"Don't you even look at me,” Lily replied icily.

Standing, Tobias approached her, "Now, now pretty girl…  _Don't be like that._  I can give you what he never will, because he hasn’t got the stomach."

"He stood up to you when you were beating him for no reason at all!” Lily spat, “Yeah, that's right _, I saw the wounds._  I thought you had taken a knife to his back at first… _You’re a monster._  If anyone doesn't have a stomach, _it's you._ You prey on the weak.  Well, I assure you, _I am not weak_ , and if you touch me, I swear to God I will make you suffer."

Grabbing her by the arm, _"You know nothing about me._  The boy needed to learn a lesson for mouthing off to me!  I only gave him what he deserved…  Just like you deserve to have someone bedding you who isn't _weak.”_

 _"Let. Me. Go."_ Lily said threateningly, her free hand reaching for her wand.

From behind, Severus suddenly appeared, wand trained steadily at Tobias’ neck, "You heard her father, unless your ears have ceased to work.   _Let her go."_

Tobias smiled menacingly at Lily, swinging around, and hitting his son in the arm, causing him to drop his wand.  Before Severus had a chance to react, Tobias had shoved his son out of the way, returning his attentions back to Lily.  He pushing her up against the wall, pressing himself against her, his sour breath foul in her face, “Now, pretty girl, where were we?”

Lily did not back down for a second, nor does she show any sign of fear, "I'm not afraid of you. _I'm not weak._  I am none of things you prey on.  You can do whatever you want to me, and I will never show you fear, because I have none for you."

“Well see about that after you have all of me inside of you,” he breathed, inhaling her scent, tongue tracing up the side of her neck, “Which hole would you like for me to fill first?”

“You’re despicable.”

“Maybe your pretty little mouth, lips stretched wide around my- “

 _"SECTUMSEMPRA!"_ A voice suddenly booms from across the room.

Lily hears Tobias groan, and as he turns around, she notices a cut in his back that is bleeding profusely.  She follows his look towards Severus, who is pointing his wand directly at Tobias, looking angrier than she has ever seen him before. Severus approaches Tobias quickly, pointing his wand directly at his father's eye.

"You can hit me all you want; you can do whatever you want to me…   _BUT YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH LILY ON MY WATCH!"_

Lily watches as Tobias shrinks away, in what can only be described as absolute terror at his son's rage.

She quickly grabs his arm, "Sev, please don't do this.  I know what you're thinking, and it isn't going to solve anything… _Please, Sev!_   Don't do something you'll regret."

Severus looks into Lily's lovely eyes and lowers his wand.  He then goes over and grabs his trunk, and before following Lily out of the door, he turns back and looks at Tobias, "I will be contacting my mother regularly to see how she is doing.  You should listen to every word I am about to say _very carefully._  If anything happens to her- And I mean _ANYTHING…_  I promise you that I will be back here, and I _will_ kill you."

"I’m sorry for losing my temper like that, Lily…  But I know what he was gonna do to you, and I wasn't gonna let that happen," Severus told her.

"Killing isn't the way, Sev,” she told him, “I saw the flicker of it in your eyes- I know what you were about to do.  You would’ve had to live with that for the rest of your life, even if it was someone as abominable as your father."

"Maybe you're right, Lily.  But I made sure to promise him that if something happens to my mother, _I am_ going to kill him."

"I understand because she's your mother, Sev…  But at least try to find a better way first."

"I will, but I also will not hesitate if taking his life is what I have to do,” he told her, “I have never wanted to kill anyone before- Not until I saw that he had you pinned against that wall in there _. That made me hit my breaking point._  I have never felt that kind of rage in my entire life… Not even during Potter and Black's worst moments."

As they reached Lily's house, she turned to him, "I understand.  But Sev, I need you to know that I can take care of myself, even if I don't seem like it sometimes.  I promise you, I would have been okay."

Walking inside of the house, the pair immediately found themselves brought into a bracing hug by John and Violet Evans.

"Are you guys alright?" Violet asked with concern, eyes searching over both of them for any sign of injury.

"We’re fine, mom,” Lily told her, internally thinking, _“Well other than the that bastard laying his hands on me, and Sev looking as if he was about to kill him outright.”_

"Well I am glad you're both alright, given what he is capable of."

Lily smiled, embracing her mother in a warm side-hug.

"Severus, can I talk to you for a second?" John suddenly asked.

"Sure, what's going on?" Severus responded.

John led Severus into the other room, "I get the feeling that everything might not have gone quite according to plan.”

"No, Mr. Evans,” Severus told him uncomfortably, “It’s safe to say that my father intended on doing something far worse than a mere beating…  He approached Lily while I was upstairs getting my things.  When I went to stop him, he knocked my wand away, and shoved me back.  By the time I retrieved it he had Lily against the wall…  She stood up to him bravely, but by the tone of his voice I knew what he was gonna do…  I suddenly felt an anger come over me like never before, and I attacked him.  I was gonna kill him Mr. Evans…  I probably would have too, if it wasn't for Lily talking me down and telling me that it wasn't gonna solve anything."

"I appreciate you helping her, and caring for her, but she was right.  It wouldn't solve anything, and all it would have done was land you in serious trouble, because despite the circumstances, it's still murder."

"I know, Mr. Evans, but I wasn't just gonna sit there while he did awful things to her!” Severus exclaimed, “He backed off immediately when he realized how dangerous I can really be, and that’s what matters...  Lily is safe, and that matters to me more than anything,” he then added quietly, _“It matters to me more than my own life even."_

Mr. Evans looked at Severus curiously, _"You love her don't you?_ More than just as a friend?"

"I do, Mr. Evans,” he sighed, surprised by his confession, “I just can't figure out how to tell her."

"Just go ahead and tell her; you won't scare her off, trust me.  _But don't wait too long,"_ Mr. Evans told him with a knowing look, before walking back into the kitchen.

Severus grabbed his trunk and headed back up to the guest bedroom.  He sat down on the bed and then wondered to himself, "Lily’s father encouraged me to tell her, and to not wait too long…  Does that mean there’s a slight chance that she feels the same way?  He is her father after all, and he would know things like that…  I just have to find the courage in myself to admit to her how I really feel."

He can’t help but continue thinking these things over throughout the course of the day, and well into the night.  He knows what he must do, and he knows that it has to be soon before he misses his chance to be with her, and to be able to call her his.  It’s a desire that he has had for as long as he can remember.  She is his angel and will always be- Always and forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Valardoheris :) appreciate your help always.


	6. Weekend at the Evans'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys 30KEWNE back again bringing you the sixth of many chapters in this work. This will be the last chapter before our lovely Sev and Lily return to Hogwarts. Feel free to ask any questions and I will happily answer them as long as it isn't asking me for spoilers. I hope you enjoy my fellow readers :)

The new week was, for the most part, uneventful for Severus. Petunia was still being as nasty as ever; calling him a ‘freak’ and all kinds of things in an attempt to try and set him off. Aside from that though, things were great. He was finally able to wake up in the morning without wondering if he was going to be greeted by the loud, thundering footsteps of his drunk, abusive father… Or the screams of his mother. It was almost a strange sensation to not have to worry about whether today would be another day that he might catch another brutal beating. For the first time in his life he considered himself to be living in a state as close to “Pure Heaven” as he had ever before imagined. He slept in rather late, though it was around 11:30 by the time he finally woke up- Which had to be something of a new record for him. That was another positive about living with Mr. and Mrs. Evans, they never hounded him for sleeping in so late, nor did they hound him on much of anything else at all. He had guessed that they thought he might need the rest, considering his and Lily's return to Hogwarts was imminent. It was the middle of August, and the heat wave that hit had brought the hottest temperatures for the summer- Today’s nearing 100 degrees. Already feeling the warmth rise through the house, Severus decided at once that he was not inclined to do much of anything for the day.

"Good morning, Severus! Or should I say afternoon?" John said with a smile as the young man arrived downstairs.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sleep in so late, Mr. Evans," Severus told him.

"Don't worry about it, Severus. We thought you could use it.”

“Where is everyone?"

"Petunia went to a friend's house, and Violet took Lily to get her school supplies,” John replied, “We're actually a bit late this year, since we usually tend do that at the beginning of August and not two weeks before the new term begins.”

"Oh great, and I didn't even go with them…" Severus panicked.

"Don't worry, they'll take care of it. As I said, we don't blame you for sleeping in.”

"Two weeks away from the start of fifth year... I can't believe it! It still feels like yesterday when Lily and I walked through those big doors for the very first time,” he paused, “Of course a lot has changed since then; I don't find some things nearly as exciting as I did at one time.”

"Is this about those bullies Lily always told us about?” John questioned, “What are their names… Is it James Potter and Sirius Black?"

"Of course. They get more aggressive every year. At first it was just minor pranks that they used to get people to laugh at me, but lately they have actually tried to physically harm me… They’ve succeeded more than once in doing so." Severus said with a bit of an edge to his voice, "I know exactly why they do it too."

"Why is that?"

"I'm not the only one that is after your daughter's heart, Mr. Evans. I am absolutely sure Potter is determined to take me out of the running, by any means necessary… And Black is his best friend- He’s determined to help Potter get what he wants. There’s two others that make up their ranks also… Pettigrew is just a follower, a weak individual sticking close to a strong group. Remus Lupin on the other hand- I do have something of a degree of respect for… Even if not much." Severus said rather kindly, "Lupin has his problems, and I have mine. I believe that he’s afraid to stand up to his friends because they’re probably all he has. I don't like Potter, Black, or Pettigrew by any means, but Remus I could consider befriending if he actually proved himself more, and continues to not act like they do."

"Severus, I’m glad you think of Remus as a good person. And as for this James Potter, I doubt it's my daughter's heart he’s really after. He sounds as though he just wants her to fuel his ego. And from what I’ve heard Lily speak of, as well as yourself, he doesn’t love her like you do… If he did, he wouldn’t humiliate you to try to get her attention when she clearly wants nothing to do with him. If he wants to be a fool, let him. I know my daughter, and it will take a special man, like yourself, who is lucky enough to win her heart."

"Thank you, Mr. Evans. It means a lot for you to tell me that,” Severus told him, and John smiled and patted him gently upon the back, “I haven't told her yet. I was planning on waiting until we go back to Hogwarts. Too much has already happened this summer with my father, and the addition of my living here- It just seems like a bit too much to throw at her all at once. I know that even she has a limit to what she can handle in a short amount of time," he continued, nearly laughing.

"Well, I’m confident she feels the same way about you,” John told him, “I've seen the way she looks at you sometimes.”

"I'll tell her when we go back to Hogwarts,” he repeated, “But right now I don't want to worry about any of that business, or be afraid she won't feel the same way. I just want enjoy my last two weeks off… Heat wave and all."

"I don’t think it’s been this bad in over 25 years," John said with a chuckle, noting the boy’s sarcasm.

"I can’t remember it ever being quite this hot."

After a brief, though comfortable silence had momentarily fallen between the two men, John’s face changed to reflect a much more serious tone, his voice sounding with concern, "Have you thought about what you're going do about your mother? I know you said that she's all alone now."

"Not much,” he admitted grimly, “Aside from stopping by the day before we leave to see if she is okay…”

That old bastard better have kept his hands off of her if he knows what's good for him.

"I can't even wrap my head around why someone would do that to his wife and child,” John murmured with a sad shake of his head, “But I always like to think that people like him will get what's coming to them one way or another.”

"I just try not to think about him at all. I’m just glad that I’m out of there."

I was at that moment, that the front door opened, and Lily and Violet walked into the house. Turning from John, Severus immediately met them halfway, greeting them both with a hug. 

"Hello Severus, how are you?" Mrs. Evans asked, giving him a warm smile.

"I'm great, Mrs. Evans,” he told her with a smile, and then turned to Lily. The radiant smile upon her face left him momentarily stunned, before he finally managed, “I'm sorry I didn't go with you guys. I didn't mean to sleep in so late."

Lily laughed and hugged him tightly, "It's okay, Sev. I got everything we need.” Pulling away she continued, “I can't believe that we're in our fifth year already! The start of our first year feels like it was only yesterday. Although, I can't say I am sad about it being fifth year… It just means that we’re one year closer to being free of Potter and Black."

"Yeah, you're telling me,” he laughed, and then took his things from them and headed up to his room.

"Well he was in a hurry," Violet said when she heard the door close behind him.

"He’s probably already reading his new books so he can be ten steps ahead of the rest of us, like always," Lily told her mother with a laugh.

John motioned for his wife and youngest daughter to join him, and sit down at the table. They discussed Lily's upcoming school year, and how proud they are of her for how far she has come in five years.

"So Lily, are you nervous about having so little time left at Hogwarts?" John inquired.

"Not really,” she sighed, “Right now it’s just the future of no more Potter and Black once I'm done… Particularly Potter."

John and Violet both eye one another, and give a slight chuckle.

"He’s just trying to impress everyone in the school! Many find him annoying… The only reason that they go along with it is because they’re afraid of becoming one of his or Black’s next victims. They're relentless. They mostly target Sev, but they've been known to hurl a hex or two in the direction of anyone they feel like; they’ve even targeted first years once or twice- At least they did last year. Fourteen-year-old’s targeting eleven-year-old’s! It just makes me sick sometimes."

"I'm just glad that Severus stands up to them. It just shows that he’s a better person than they are,” Violet added, “I don't think he would be the type to do the things that other boy has done- He doesn't need to be a bully to impress people; he does that by being a good and kind person.”

"He always stands up to them! Even though they usually attack him three-on-one, and easily gain the upper hand by numbers, he has stood his ground every time,” Lily agreed, “He’s always defended me against other unpleasant people there… Like those who enjoy insulting witches and wizards that they find beneath them.”

"There will always be people like that Lily,” her mother said sadly, “Some are worse than others, but you are lucky to have someone that cares so much about you. Not many would do that for someone else if it meant putting themselves in harm's way. He's a good person, I saw that the day I first met him. I just wish Petunia would treat you both better… I don't understand why she has to be this way, just because you have something she doesn't. You two used to be so close, and it breaks my heart."

"It does mine too, mom,” Lily sighed, “But I stopped crying over it years ago. I've learned to accept the fact that she will never treat me kindly again, and I personally think that it’s her loss. If our roles were reversed, I would never treat her that way. A sister is supposed to love you no matter what, and not put you down because of something you can't help in the first place."

"I think jealousy is a big part of it,” John interjected, “She has some weird idea that we somehow loved you more than her, which obviously has never been true. We were just happy to discover something as amazing as magic being real, and that our daughter was given such a rare gift.” Looking at his wife, he patted her hand affectionately, “That did not make us love her any less, and we try to talk to her every day about it, but she always says the same thing."

"I know, dad. I know you and mom both try very hard, but some people just can't change. I would love to have the sister back that I had when I was a little girl, before my magical abilities manifested. She isn't that girl anymore though, she turned cold and cruel towards anything even remotely magic. She’s bitter, and I think that’s what makes her lash out the way that she does… Even in exploiting Severus' terrible home life whenever she can. I’m just tired of it,” Lily sighed, shaking her head, “I stopped letting it get to me a long time ago, and I hope that Severus can do the same for the sake of his own sanity."

After a little while longer, Lily excused herself from her parents’ company, and headed upstairs. She paused for a moment, and then knocked on the door to Severus' room.

“Come in.”

"Wow, you really didn't waste any time did you?" Lily said with a smile, seeing Severus with his book open in hand.

"None to waste, Lily. Being ahead has always given me a useful advantage. One that I feel I will need very much this year. Besides, with this near deadly heat wave, I'm not going outside anytime soon… I don't have much else to do."

"I, personally, can't wait to go back,” she told him, “As much as I love being home, I miss Hogwarts a lot too… This last month has passed by so slow for me."

"Yeah, me too. Although my reasons were drastically different than yours," he said with a tone of sadness in his voice.

Lily didn't respond, she just looked at him sadly, knowing what it was that he was implying. She still found it difficult to believe that someone would do that to their own child, and attempt to rape a teenage girl on top of that. She shuddered at that thought. She wasn't afraid of the man by any means, she was more disgusted than anything at the filth that reeked of old alcohol.

"I am gonna go and do some reading of my own to see if I can get the same advantage that you somehow manage to acquire each year," she said with a smile. 

She then hugged him very tightly, and he happily wrapped his arms around her and held her close. After he had let her go, he looked after her longingly as she walked out the door.

Severus sat back down on his bed and returned to reading his new books. He figured he should use a little bit of time each day so he could get a good head start on his studying, because he found that it has always given him an advantage. In doing so, he has managed to retain every bit of the information for when it’s been needed. That, and he wants to work on helping others who are having a difficult time this year. It is fifth year after all, the year things will start to get more advanced and increasingly difficult, as it’s the tail-end of their O.W.L.’s. Severus shuddered at that thought. He had always felt confident in taking end-of-year exams, but those were just for that specific year. The big one that will be at the end of this year, will cover all five years. Whenever he’s thought of testing over five years’ worth of material, he’s wondered if he can do it. If he can somehow retain his record of getting O's in every subject, something he has done since his first year. He’s even outmatched Lily in some classes, and that’s a feat hardly anyone can pull off, even in the more difficult subjects. She is both magically powerful, and talented to an incredibly rare degree for their age; much like himself, as both he and Lily have been told by a few different teachers. In Severus' case, those of whose attention he no longer seeks. 

He smiled to himself as a thought came to him yet again. At least Potter and Black don't get that kind of credit. They may be bullies, and they may be many teachers' favorites, but their arrogance proves they spend very little time actually studying and trying to perform well in their classes. They spend more of their time trying to impress others by doing idiotic things like targeting him whenever he turns the corner. He may get humiliated daily at Hogwarts, but he has one thing that they can never take from him- Magical skill and knowledge. They both know he is far more magically powerful than they are, as he has more off-handed experience practicing with whatever free time he could get, and they know they would easily be defeated in a duel. Perhaps that’s why they always perform cowardly three-on-one sneak attacks. Oh yes, he was certain this was going to be a great year, as he was finally making a break from the little clan of future Death Eaters. Yes, it would most likely cost him greatly, and he knew that he will have made many more enemies, but he also knew that he honestly couldn't care less. He has Lily, and his break from those supremacist friends means he won't lose her. To hell with the power and glory that they promised! A future with Lily would be far better than anything their pure-blood dogma could ever offer him. He now truly understood that a future of love and happiness would outlive a lifetime of power and glory any day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since there will be many chapters in this work I am just going to say it. Valardoheris is my beta for every chapter I have written so far and I hope to keep it that way. I will no longer be posting this at the end of every chapter unless I get a new beta which is unlikely so just know that these chapters are reviewed by the same person every time.


	7. Return to Hogwarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 7. I deeply apologize guys for the long wait between chapters. My hard drive crashed and I lost everything. I had to rewrite all of my future plans from scratch. This will not be a very long chapter as there really isn't much to write here it's just featuring the return of Hogwarts and...the moment you've all been waiting for. Enjoy :)

Severus was woken up at 7:30 in the morning by Lily. It was the first of September, the day that their fifth year would officially begin.

"Come on Sev, it's already 7:30, and it's a two-and-a-half-hour drive- That gives us only a half an hour to get ready," Lily told him before walking out.

Severus groaned as he realized how early it really was. He loved the opening day of a new school year, and he was always a morning person, but he had the distinct feeling that he hadn’t slept nearly enough during the night; he’d give anything for some type of energy potion to get him up and moving. Sluggishly, he somehow managed to get everything together... He grabbed his school robes, his wand, and his books, tucking them securely into his trunk. He then headed downstairs to leave with Lily.

"You sure know how to run out the clock Sev," Lily told him with a slight smile.

"Yeah. Only thing I don't like about first days is having to be up so early. I'm just not used to it yet," he replied with a yawn.

"We should get going then. We don't want to take too long since you have to be there by exactly 11:00," Violet told them, ushering them outside and into the family car.

The ride was surprisingly quiet, although not uncomfortably so. Severus and Lily were beyond excited to start their fifth year. There was the occasional talk about how enthusiastic they were, really nothing new as they had been discussing it practically all summer. They finally arrived at King's Cross at around 10:45 as planned. Falling into his normal routine, Severus almost walked off when Violet called out to him, causing him to turn around in surprise.

"Severus, are you forgetting something?” she asked him with a kind smile, “I'm not going to see you for a long time."

He realized that she was awaiting a ‘goodbye’ hug, and quickly backtracked to embrace her warmly.

"You two have a great term, and don't let those two bullies get to you!” she told them both, “Just remember that you're almost done- Only two more years after this one.”

The two teenagers boarded the train about 5 minutes later, and they found an empty compartment rather quickly, for the first time since their first year. Unfortunately, someone else found them too.

"Oy! Evans. How was your summer?" James Potter called out, leaning in the doorway to their compartment.

"Piss off Potter," Severus told him, immediately aggravated.

"I wasn't talking to you, Snivellus!” he barked, “You're nothing but a dirty, greasy snake.” He turned his attention back to the pretty redhead, puffing out his chest, “Evans, I’m sure you’d prefer to go hang out with someone that isn't a total slime ball?"

Lily scoffed, and shook her head- The arrogance of him! After all this time he still somehow refused to take a hint.

“As if anyone with half a brain would want to hang out with you, Potter,” Severus shot back after Lily had remained quiet. “Remus, well, I understand him... I probably understand him better than you, or your little sidekicks ever will. You on the other hand, you're arrogant, and you're big-headed. We're starting our fifth year now, and you still call me the same names you did on the first day that we met. My guess is that you’re unable to come up with anything different, which isn’t that surprising, considering you currently hold the record of most cauldrons exploded in Potions."

"What did you say to me, you greasy bastard?" James growled through gritted teeth, angrily drawing his wand. Within moments, Sirius Black had quickly appeared behind him, doing the same.

“I see that you’re still going for your wand because you can't handle a simple truth, Potter…” Severus smirked, “I’ll tell you what- You and me, one-on-one. No sidekicks, and no blindsiding. Just a standard duel; then we will see who is the more competent, and talented wizard.” He paused, noting the reddening of the skin at his rival’s neck, and the malice staring like daggers into him from behind James’ wire glassed, “You think you’re a hotshot, but we’ll see who’s truly more powerful, since you seem so desperate to find out. Come back when you have the stomach to fight me without help from your friends.” For a moment the two teenagers continued to stare in quiet dislike at one another before Severus waved him off, “I've got more important business to discuss with Lily, and I believe I told you to piss off… Unless, of course, you do want to take me up on my offer of a proper duel.”

Lily, who had also been ready to attack if necessary, straightened in her seat, "I believe you both heard him. Potter, Black… If you know what's good for you, I suggest that you listen to what he says for once.” James had seemed tempted to retort, though Lily was quick and pointed with her words, “Now, Get. The. Hell. Out."

The two Gryffindor boys took in the scene before them for a moment longer, and then after Lily’s stare had proven too icy for them to continue to handle, they turned and sulked off down the train.

"It's only been a half an hour, and they're already on us,” Severus sighed, “It's gonna be a long year."

"Yeah, you're telling me,” she agreed, “At least you aren't in the same house as them! It's been going on since at least our third year, and yet Potter still won't leave me alone."

"He can't even comprehend the word 'no'. He was probably given whatever he wanted his whole life, never being denied a single thing."

"Yeah, you’re probably right,” she agreed, “Anyways, that aside, what did you want to talk to me about? I mean, we weren't talking about anything important… Why the sudden urgency?” 

In that moment, he realized that his moment of confession had finally arrived. It’s now or never. 

"Lily, I'm not exactly sure how to do this,” he began, “I'm already out of my comfort zone as it is."

"Okay…”

"I know it might seem weird, but the more time I spend around you, the deeper this feeling somehow gets…"

"Sev, I don’t want you to think that I’ll leave you or abandon you,” she interjected, “I can tell that this is really eating at you, and I don’t want you to think that anything that you could ever tell me would drive me away from you. Just tell me.”

"Lily, I'm in love with you,” he said at once, his voice breathy and his cheeks reddening slightly, eyes glued to hers with the hope that she wouldn’t reject him, “I have been for so, so long."

Before she could even fully process what he said, he kissed her. She froze at first, surprised by his sudden boldness, but then she slowly responded, kissing him back. 

"I'm in love with you too, Sev,” she told him, “I almost told you before… But I thought it would be best if you told me first.”

From that moment on, neither of them needed to say anything else. Severus knew that Lily would be his forever, and Lily knew that Severus would be hers forever. He would do everything in his power to make that happen. Potter and the Death Eaters could go to hell, because nothing would take his Lily away from him as long as he was breathing. Little did they know, however, Peter Pettigrew had been watching them through the window.

Lily laid her head on Severus' shoulder. He kissed her hair lovingly, and then began combing his fingers through it, and soon by the sound of her breathing he knew she had fallen asleep on him. 

Her hair is as soft as an angel's, and she is the most beautiful witch in the world- My girlfriend now at that! I hope this isn't a dream, and if it is, please never let me wake up from it.

Before he knew it, he was having to gently shake her awake and let her know that they had arrived at Hogwarts. She beamed up at him, her eyes still drowsy, and kissed him gently, "We should probably get going then."

They walked into the Great Hall hand-in-hand, before they were forced to part, with Lily going to her table, and he to his. As soon as he was seated, Severus realized how much he already missed her close proximity. Surprisingly, James Potter and his cronies were nowhere to be found, and neither was the other unpleasant company of the Death Eater Youth. That would surely make his and Lily's entrance, which had drawn almost every eye their way, a bit easier. Severus didn't touch his meal at all, his eyes were on Lily the whole time. He loved her so much. Dumbledore gave his opening speech, which Severus never paid much attention to, partially because it was almost the exact same every year. The contents mainly a welcoming to the first years, and then announcing the Forbidden Forest being out of bounds to all students. Apart from that, Severus had grown accustomed to seeing Dumbledore in a dimmer light since the events of the past year. He couldn’t forget how Black had gotten away with attempted murder, and Dumbledore had manipulated everything, somehow ended up blaming him for it.

After everyone had left to go to bed, Severus caught up with Lily. He hugged her tightly and kissed her once more, whispering, "I love you," softly in her ear, which she returned happily. 

Before walking away, however, he slipped a piece of parchment into the pocket of her robes, and gave her a secret and loving smile. He then walked off towards his dormitory, and when he arrived, he was relieved that his old Death Eater acquaintances were already asleep. They must have walked off without him seeing them, not surprising since his eyes had never left Lily- Not even once. Reaching his four-poster bed, he laid down and allowed a sleep filled with dreams of his lovely Lily claim him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that wraps up chapter 7. Like I said not much happens just the beginning of their relationship mostly. Updates on 10/29, 10/31 and 11/02. I gotta make up for lost time somehow. 30KEWNE signing off for now. I hope to be seeing you real soon for the upcoming bunch of chapters my fellow readers :)


	8. Confrontations and Exploding Cauldrons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter eight. Enjoy :)

Severus sat down at the Slytherin table during breakfast the next morning. After giving Lily a hug and a kiss, he realized that he was being watched closely by Potter; no doubt planning an attack. Of course this wouldn't be the first time it had happened, and it wouldn't be the last... But since he had officially began dating Lily, he had been prepared that things were going to get a lot worse. Luckily, he couldn't care less. Lily was his now, and she was amazing in every way possible- Something that arrogant Potter would never know.

"Hey Snape," a voice greeted him, snapping him back into reality.

"Avery," Severus responded with little interest.

"Have you thought about our proposition we gave you at the end of last term?"

"Yes Avery, I have."

"Well? What did you decide?" Avery pressed, Mulciber and Evan Rosier approaching them.

"I'm not doing it," he told his housemate grimly, "You and your lackeys should go somewhere else. I've got better things to do than succumb to a lifetime of murder and bigotry."

"You'll regret this Snape," disdain recognizable in his eyes, "You and your little Mudblood girlfriend will regret this."

"Whenever you're ready, I'll be right here. Also, if you use that word in front of me again, I'll make sure to kick your teeth in and watch you choke on them."

After they had walked away, Severus looked over to Lily, who had been looking back at him the whole time, completely ignoring Potter's attempts to communicate with her. After breakfast ended, he quickly caught up with her and gave her a lingering hug.

"Sorry if you heard that," he told her, "Just had some ex-friends to deal with."

"Oh don't worry Sev... I'm just glad you decided to not join them," she confessed with a secret smile meant only for him.

"Oi! Snivellus, get your greasy hands off Evans!" James said from behind.

With a groan, Severus turned around and glared hard at the Gryffindor, "Or what, Potter? You going to attack me three-on-one with the help of your underperforming lackeys again?"

"Sev, don't..." Lily warned.

"He started it Evans," James continued, speaking to only her,0 "How you can even date this greasy snake? He's a Death Eater in the making!"

"What the fuck did you just say, Potter?! You really think you're all that, sitting there and accusing me of being a Death Eater just because I'm in Slytherin house?" Severus seethed, balling up his fists in rage, "I'll bet that I've lived with far worse in my lifetime than you can even imagine! You who grew up in a household where Mommy and Daddy gave you whatever you wanted... You don't know me, so don't presume to make accusations that you're unable to back-up."

James had begun to reach for his wand when Severus grabbed the front of his robes and shoved him against the wall, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Potter. Do I need to remind you that I can actually control magic that you would never even begin to comprehend? I could easily turn you to dust if I wanted, but I won't because I'm not a killer like the Death Eaters. Now get the fuck out of my face before I hex you on principle."

"Such an idiot," Lily said with a sigh, shaking her head.

"I am utterly through screwing around with him," he told her, watching as James faded into the crowd and out of sight, "If he wants a fight, I'll be happy to give him one."

"Sev, let's just go to class... We have your favorite class first thing this year, that ought to cheer you up."

Severus took her hand and then walked down to the potions classroom. He had a smile on his face the whole way because of Lily, and because his favorite class was their first class this year... He had nearly forgotten his schedule due to the interruption from James Potter. This would be a great time indeed, brewing always made him happy. They walked into the classroom and immediately saw Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew all at the back of the class. It was in that moment that Severus' happiness immediately dissipated as he realized that he now had potions class with all four of the Marauders. It was too early in the morning, and he was already on a short fuse from the events of earlier. He sat down at a table with Lily and two of her friends, whose names he did not know.

"Hey, Lily!" The boy smiled, "And hey, Severus."

"Um hi, I guess... Sorry, I don't know your names..." Severus responded awkwardly, though kindly.

Lily put her hand on his arm and began introductions, "Sev, this is Frank Longbottom and Alice Nesbitt; they're two of my friends."

"Nice to meet you," Severus responded, shaking both of their hands.

"Where are Mary and Cassandra?" Lily asked.

"I don't know, they must be caught up again... Cassandra has some personal issues going on, and Mary is, well, I don't know... She's just been weird lately," Alice replied.

"Well, I'm sure they'll turn up eventually. Hopefully soon, since class is about to start."

As if on cue, Professor Slughorn walked in and greeted the class happily, "Good morning class! We are together for the first time, at the very start of the day! A rather lovely chain of events..."

"They are indeed," Severus whispered to Lily.

"Today we will be learning how to alter potions, and how to correctly, and safely, change them into a powerful solution," he continued, "Some of you may be familiar with this, others of you not so much. There are three powerful magical creatures whose hair can be used in multiple ways, the information on these ingredients being in your textbooks at the start of chapter three."

There was notable scrambling and shuffling throughout the room as the students pulled their books from their bags and flipped to the designated pages.

"Now, should I remind you that while a potion is in the process of being magically altered into a solution, it becomes very volatile and will react dangerously to anything added to it- So make sure that you add the specific ingredient last. LAST. We will be using unicorn hair today, that being because it is the most potent, as well as the most commonly found. You will receive your marks based on how well you complete your solution in the remaining hour. Best of luck to you all!"

"This is gonna be so easy," Severus chuckled, "I've done this already; let's get to it shall we?"

"Oh sure, rub it in why don't you?" Lily and Alice said in unison, while Frank just gave a small chuckle and shook his head.

Severus found what he was looking for immediately, and went right to work. He began adding the ingredients for a potion he was going to turn into a solution, which was a simple burn salve. In it's solution form it should drastically increase its effectiveness and decrease the time it would take to fully reach its effect. He had only just added the unicorn hair when the unthinkable happened... A sparking, fizzling firework landed with a splash into his cauldron.

"What the hell?" Lily questioned, momentarily mesmerized by the flash of light.

"GET DOWN!" Severus shouted.

At the sound of his sharp yell, everyone in the classroom dove under their tables as the cauldron exploded, spraying the heated and now burning solution all over the classroom.

"What in Merlin's name just happened?!" Slughorn asked, face reddening, and sounding more enraged than anyone had ever seen him. 

He quickly extinguished the fires around the room and looked towards the students of his class.

 

"This dumbass just chucked an explosive firework into Snape's cauldron Professor!" A girl shouted from the back of the class, looking quite upset herself, and pointing a finger straight at James Potter. Everyone watched in frightful silence as the blood drained from the Gryffindor's face, a pale dread replacing his prior smirk, "I watched him light it and then start laughing as he threw it towards Snape; that moron could have killed us all!"

"What in high heaven were you thinking, Potter?!" Slughorn seethed, "You threw an explosive firework into a half finished solution that I explicitly told you at the beginning of class would react violently if something regular was thrown into it- Let alone a firework! What did you think you would accomplish by doing this? You will receive no marks for your actions, and six months detention with me every day cleaning cauldrons. Oh, and I will be taking 150 points from Gryffindor." James opened his mouth in a purported attempt to say something in his defence, but Slughorn interrupted him, "Don't you tell me that I can't do that, Mr. Potter, because I most certainly can, and I assure you that I will! I hope putting your house at a negative 150 points, a new record I may add, has taught you a valuable lesson. If you make such a reckless choice in my classroom again, it will be 300. Now leave my class this instant! You are not to return for the remainder of the day until I summon you for your detention."

Severus stood back up after extinguishing the burning fabric of his robes, and Slughorn turned his attention to the youth belonging to his own House, "You should go to the hospital wing, Mr. Snape, and have those burns looked at. I am sorry this rather unfortunate incident happened- I assure you that it will never happen again."

Outside in the abandoned dungeon corridor, Lily fumed with rage, "Negative 150 points thanks to that arrogant toerag! Who does he think he is?! This affects the whole house; it isn't just between you and him anymore!"

"Oh don't worry, Dumbledore will negate it and you will be back at 0 in a few hours," Severus said darkly, sarcasm pinching his words.

Lily chose to ignore this and continued to walk with him to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey stepped out of her office immediately, "Severus Snape, it's only the second day of you fifth year, what did he manage to do to you this time?"

Severus and Lily recounted the events of their first potions lesson, their mutual anger still burning strong from James' stupidity.

"Well come here, you'll need to stay until tomorrow morning while the burns heal, they're very serious," Madam Pomfrey said with a sigh.

Lily stayed with Severus until she couldn't anymore, she had officially had enough of Potter. There was no doubt that he could have seriously hurt someone doing such a foolish thing. She was going to make sure that he paid dearly for what he had done. Apart from that, Lily knew that Potter would screw up again, he had always been too arrogant not to.

"Goddamn you, Potter..." Lily thought angrily. 

Little did she and Severus know though, that Slughorn's punishment was only the beginning of the punishments he would soon be receiving. Dumbledore was currently talking with the school governors about taking further action than a simple detention and house point removal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will bring you a new chapter in a couple days :) I hope you all enjoyed it. I love all of you <3


	9. Suspensions, Apologies and Attacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ninth chapter. Sorry for the short length. I will try to make the next one much longer. Enjoy my fellow readers :)

James Potter was seated in front of the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He was feeling pretty stupid because he had gotten caught. He knew that he had meant to screw with Snape's project, however he had not counted on it having had that bad of a reaction; he should have listened to Slughorn for once!

"Mr. Potter, do you know why I have summoned you here at this time?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes sir," James replied.

"Well then you would know that what you did was extremely reckless."

James said nothing and just looked at the floor.

"Mr. Snape is currently in the hospital wing with burns to over 40 percent of his body. I understand that Professor Slughorn gave you six months detention and took 150 points away from Gryffindor," Dumbledore continued.

"Yeah that's right."

"Well the governors and I had a little chat, and we have decided that you will be serving a two week suspension as well, starting today. When you have completed that, your six months detention will still be carried out. I will not give back the points taken from your House. This has been a very serious matter, Mr. Potter, and I might add, that you're lucky it's only a suspension. If anything like this happens again, I will have no other option than to expel you. Now, off you go."

***

Severus woke up in the very familiar surroundings of the Hospital Wing. However, to his surprise, it was not Lily by his side this time- It was Remus Lupin, and he looked deeply conflicted.

"Lupin, what are you doing here?"

"Look, Snape... I understand that we don't exactly see eye-to-eye," he began, "But I just wanted to say that I am sorry for what James did to you; he really went too far this time. You were lucky you didn't die, and it was a miracle that no one else was hurt."

"Don't be sorry, Lupin, you didn't throw it."

"No, but I didn't stop him either," he objected, shame sounding in his voice, "I didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late, and it landed you here once again, very much like every other time that I've turned a blind eye to their cruel tactics." He paused, "I'm not sure that it will make you feel any better, but Dumbledore suspended James this morning for two weeks; he's made that loud and clear to us all. I just wanted to let you know that I'm willing to start fresh and put everything that's happened behind us."

Severus shook Remus' hand, "You should get going. I can't go anywhere yet and you don't want to be late for class."

"Right. See you later," Remus nodded, before walking out of the doors.

Madam Pomfrey came over to check his burns a short while later. She gave a nod of satisfaction upon seeing their healing progress, and passed him a draught, "They are healing nicely. I'm surprised this wasn't much worse. Drink this and you can go."

Severus drank it quickly. Resentment boiled under his skin at Potter, he was glad that the arrogant bastard was suspended, but he still wanted to find him, douse him in something good and flammable, and then set HIM on fire so that he would know how bad it really hurts. He could withstand a lot of pain thanks to his father, but the pain of being set on fire was much worse than anything he had ever withstood in his life. 

As he walked out of the hospital wing to go find Lily, he heard the very familiar, very unpleasant voice of Sirius Black, "Hey there, Snivellus! I see those nasty burns have healed up nicely."

"What do you want Black?" Severus questioned, turning around.

"Just a little payback for getting my best friend suspended," he grinned, pulling hia wand, "I mean, if it wasn't for you, he would still be here. I know it's only two weeks, but still, it's two weeks that James would want me to make you pay for."

"Really, Black?" Severus managed, eyebrow raised, "You and I both know how this is going to end. If you attack me, I will crush you. So be a good little doggy, and put your wand away if you know what's good for you."

Sirius smiled wider, "We shall see won't we? Indendio!"

Severus quickly blocked the fire spell, "First one's free, Black. Next one will cost you. This is the last time I'm gonna tell you to put your wand away and leave me alone."

"INCENDIO!" Sirius roared, and Severus blocked that one too.

"I warned you twice and you don't listen. Maybe this will teach you a lesson. GRAVIS FULGURI!" A bright blue bolt of lightning shot from the end of Severus' wand and hit Sirius right square in the chest, destroying his shield in the process. Sirius went down instantly and attempted to cast another spell at Severus, finding himself unable to. "It burns through shield charms, Black. It also attacks the magical core. Not to worry though, you're not seriously damaged, just powerless. The effects will wear off in a couple of hours and you'll be back up to full strength. I suggest you leave me alone, because if you don't, I won't hesitate to cast that spell on you again. I'm not sure what would happen if I hit you with it twice before the first one wears off, but I would be glad to find out if you continue to push me. You have pushed me past my limit." He lowered his voice, taking a step towards the downed wizard, "Make sure that you tell Potter how much I would just love a reason to set him on fire so he can feel what I felt... If he doesn't want that to happen, he would do best to leave me alone."

Severus had begun to walk away when Lily came running up to him, giving him a hug, "Sev, I'm glad you're out! I was going to come up to see you but you're already here. Let's get to class we don't want to be..." she trailed off upon seeing Sirius laying on the ground. "What did you do to him, Sev?" She asked, unable to divert her eyes.

"He got all bent out of shape about Potter getting himself suspended," he told her, "Black decided to attack me with two Incendio spells; I only fought back after the second one. I hit him with a spell of my own making to render him powerless temporarily. It will wear off in a couple hours."

Sirius stood up as they walked away, and tried casting another spell, only to find himself still powerless, "Damn..." he managed, realizing that his magic truly wouldn't be working for the next few hours.

Severus walked hand-in-hand with Lily, and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, "The only class we don't have together this year is by far the most boring."

"Yeah, there's a reason why I never took Divination.... It's all rubbish if you ask me. I'll see you next class. I love you," he told her after kissing her one last time.

"I love you too, Sev," she said after giving him that warm, loving smile that always made his heart melt. He loved her so much, and he was so glad that she was finally his.

He had begun to walk down the hallway to go his class, when he heard a girl scream in the distance. 

"What the hell?" he thought as he began running towards the source of the sound. What he saw, however, was a sight he had hoped he would never have to witness. He took out his wand and was immediately enraged beyond belief at the person before him, who was grinning wickedly at the girl on the floor. He raised his wand high above his head and attacked...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wicked way to end this chapter right? Next chapter we will find out what happens during the next confrontation. Until then have a happy Halloween I will be seeing you real soon :)


	10. The Light Versus the Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I know I promised you guys an update a while back but I have less than a month left in my first semester of college and things have been getting crazy. This may be my last chapter until the middle of December depending on how things go. I certainly hope not though because I don't like keeping you guys waiting. So without further a-doo here's the 10th of many chapters this work will have.

Mulciber was indeed angry. Angry that Severus had turned his back on those that would help create a new world, instead joining the dying side- The so called Light side. He had decided that they would attack Severus Snape’s precious little mudblood girlfriend, Lily, as payback for his betrayal. He had set up a trap for her, however as he struck, he realized his mistake. It was not Lily Evans he had found… Instead it was her friend Mary Macdonald.

“Oh well,” Mulciber thought to himself, “She’s still a Mudblood… She’ll suffice.”

He had an idea in his head: He would relieve himself, as he made this girl an example of what would happen to all that thought to oppose the inevitable extinguishing of the Light. But just as he started to undress her, she regained consciousness and screamed. Mulciber had cursed under his breath at her impertinence, but that was one of the last things he was able to think of clearly. He heard a yell of rage from behind him, but before he even had a chance to turn around, he was thrown a good fifty feet back by a blasting curse, and into the hard stone wall at the end of the corridor.

Severus started walking toward the girl with his wand still raised. He had recognized the girl as Lily's friend, Mary. He was relieved at seeing she was not physically hurt by Mulciber, or the blasting curse which he admitted to himself was a bit reckless- But he was so angry at witnessing what Mulciber seemed about to do her, that he had immediately lost all common sense and attacked.

"Thank you," Mary told him.

"Get out of here, I'll take care of that jackass." 

Severus looked over and saw Mulciber still moving, but he was clearly injured from the blast and resulting impact. He began walking towards him, and Mulciber tried grabbing for his wand, but Severus picked it up before he could reach it.

"I don't think so, Mulciber,” Severus told him icily, “You may have been able to take Mary by surprise, but you won't be doing that to me. Is that what you stand for? The sexual assault of an innocent girl? If so, then how anyone could ever consider joining you bastards escapes me."

"You’ll pay for this, Snape! One way or another... The Light is going to be extinguished, as well as the filthy Mudbloods and Muggles!"

"No, Mulciber, you’ve got it wrong. The Light will not be extinguished as you claim. See, the only flaw with your little delusion is that we have each other,” and he squatted beside him, though not too close, “You guys have nothing, because you don't care about anything or anyone besides yourselves."

"You’ll change your mind about that once we start killing- When we make you watch as we do,” he paused, a bloodstained smile emerging upon his thin lips, “Wonderfully fun things to your filthy Mudblood whore… We’ll make her scream.”

Severus picked Mulciber up by the collar of his robes and got right in his face, "The Darkness will not overtake the Light! We stand in unity, and you guys stand alone. I will see to it that I am the one who kills you... It won't be today, and it won't be tomorrow, but I promise you that I will kill you. Enjoy the last few years you have left to breathe, Mulciber, because your clock is ticking, you filthy abomination."

Mulciber tried to grab his wand from Severus, but he quickly snatched it away.

"Oh, I forgot is this yours? I totally forgot it was…"

"Give me my wand back, you bastard!" Mulciber snarled.

"No, I think I have a better idea,” Severus told him, throwing him back against the wall and gripping the wand firmly between both hands, “I think it's time to take this one off the board," and with a sharp ‘snap,’ the wood of the wand broke into two clean pieces.

Mulciber stared in shock as the two pieces of his wand were thrown at his feet. 

"Now, I've got to get to class,” Severus told him, wiping the palms of his hands on his black robes, “I imagine someone will be here soon to investigate the explosion; Good luck explaining the circumstances to whoever shows up."

Severus arrived slightly late to Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the only open seat being next to Mary Macdonald, the girl he just saved from Mulciber. He sat down next to her, surprised that she was in class given the discovery that he had made only minutes before.

"Why are you in class? I thought you would be taking the rest of the day off given what just happened," Severus asked quietly, concern evident in his voice.

"Not all of us can afford to, Severus. My marks are already sorely lacking, and I need to improve them as much as I can.” She sighed, though looked him squarely in the face, “Thank you once again… I honestly couldn't say that enough."

"It's no problem,” he told her, “Don't worry though, Mulciber won't be hurting anyone any time soon. A word of advice though, be careful around his friends… It might seem obvious, but while Avery and Rosier aren't quite as nasty as Mulciber, today's events are likely to change that."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The remainder of the lesson went by quickly. They were in the midst of learning how to control the power of a spell when it is first cast, which as usual, Severus already knew how to do. However, he had his silent amusement at seeing Sirius unable to participate, due to his little issue from their previous encounter. All he could do was stare at Severus with dirty looks as he performed his magic perfectly. The teacher was shocked, as she had never seen someone his age perform such complex magic so well. Finally, the lesson ended and Severus rushed off to meet Lily. They had finished classes for the day, and he just wanted to spend the remainder of his day with her. At last he found her, and she greeted him in her usual way with a hug and a kiss.

"Hey, Sev."

"Hi, Angel," he replied, and she blushed deeply at the nickname.

As the two began walking down to the lake, she suddenly asked him, "Do you know what happened earlier today? I heard that there was some kind of an explosion on the second floor corridor."

"Oh yeah, about that… Let's just say that Mulciber and I had a little confrontation that ended with him getting hit by a blasting curse.”

"A blasting curse, Sev?! You could have killed him!" Lily exclaimed, eyes wide.

“There was more to it than just that,” he explained, “I snapped his wand too… But only after I found him attempting to rape your friend, Mary."

Her mouth fell open, the look of both fear and disgust intermingling upon her face.

"I don't care Lily, I really don't,” he continued, “I’m sick and tired of watching bastards like my father, like Mulciber, prey on innocent women because they think they’re nothing but sex toys… I've had enough of it. Watching Mary almost get victimized in the worst way imaginable- Just like what I’ve seen happen to my mother… Well, there was no chance in hell that I was going to let that happen. The blasting curse was just an instinctive reaction, but I’m glad I had it.”

"And I love that very much about you, Sev. You care enough to step in for someone you barely know, not many would do that. But I don't want you to become a killer. I don't want you to have to live with something like that for the rest of your life," Lily said, before hugging him tightly.

"I don't want to do it either, Lily. But Mulciber admitted what I had long suspected- What many of us suspected… A war is brewing between the Light and the Darkness, and it is going to happen very soon… It may even be happening already.” He took her hands in his, “I intend to fight it, and I know that I will have to take lives if faced with life or death. But I want you to know that what comforts me about that knowledge, is that I will be doing it for a good reason." He paused and looked deeply into her green eyes, “I am going to spend my remaining years at Hogwarts with my Angel, and attempting to protect the innocent people here, like Mary, from the soon-to-be Death Eaters. When the time comes, I will take a stand against the Pure-blood dogma they want to see as the new world order. That will be my life, Lily. I know it's still a couple years away before I will actually be there, but fighting against the Darkness is what I know I need to do."

"Then I'll be there along with you."

"Lily..."

"No, Sev. That day on the train after we kissed, I promised myself that I would always be there with you through everything. I meant that. Before you say it, I am well aware of what doing this might mean, and I personally would probably do it anyway, even if you weren't going to, because it would be the right thing. I won't deny that I’m scared to think about the next few years, but I won't just sit by and do nothing, I refuse to do that."

Severus hugged Lily tightly, and she whispered in his ear, "Together. Always and forever, Sev."

"Always and forever, my beautiful Angel," he whispered back, kissing her hair lovingly.

Both Severus and Lily sat down at the edge of the lake and cuddled up close to one another as they looked out over the lake's calm surface. Little did either of them realize though, that Remus Lupin had heard and seen everything that had taken place over the last few minutes. He looked after them with admiration as he realized that they both wanted the exact same thing that he did: A world of light, good and equality for all, and a world free of darkness. With some reservation, he walked towards them with the hope of speaking with them. He knew that Lily would talk to him, but Severus he still wasn't too sure about, despite his friendliness in the hospital wing. With James suspended, and him avoiding Sirius and Peter since the potions incident, he had no one. It would be nice to have some friends who actually cared about him, and who weren't cruel to others without probable cause. Severus and Lily would be a nice start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have a sort of funny set-up. It will pick up right where this one left off but then at some point there will be a bit of a time skip. I hope I will be able to update again soon but I won't make any promises because from now until December spare time for me will be close to non-existent.


	11. The Beginning of New Friendships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I am sorry for the long wait between chapters. I promised I would not abandon this fic and I haven't but English class got really tough so I had to step away for a while and then I got a really bad case of writer's block due to the time away. I'm back now though bringing you the 11th chapter. This is also a Severus and Remus chapter as it focuses on the start of their friendship although Lily does appear in this chapter she is kind of a background character here.

Remus approached Severus and Lily warily. He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't nervous about talking to them. Lily was uncommonly friendly toward just about everyone, however he knew Severus could easily turn very hostile and aggressive if someone so much as looked at him sideways, especially if it involved the Marauders or anyone close to them. He finally approached them, and Severus was the first to notice- Immediately looking up.

"Um... Hey," Remus said, nervous.

"Hey Remus," Lily said kindly.

Severus, on the other hand, did not say anything. He just greeted him with a nod, which made Remus slightly more nervous as he knew this usually meant Severus did not want to talk.

"Why aren't you with Sirius and Peter, like you usually are? You guys are inseparable," Lily asked, curious.

"Thing is Lily, I have been avoiding them ever since the potions incident that landed Severus in the hospital wing, and James suspended. They really went too far this time, and I can't keep hanging around with them if they're going to continuously be cruel to Severus. You may not believe me Lily, but I actually like him... Even if his attitude, and dark magic knowledge puts me a bit on edge. He's a good guy though, and doesn't deserve what they do-Not in the slightest."

"What took you so long to see how horrible they are Remus? You don't want people like that in your life surely."

"Same reason it took Severus so long to see what the Death Eaters are. The Marauders are all I've had, and the Death Eaters were all he had. He was lucky to also have you; a reason to abandon them... A bit of luck I was never granted."

Severus chose this moment to interject, "If it's forgiveness you seek, you've already earned it. You're not like them; I've known that for a while. You were the only one out of their little group that never attacked me, or said rude things to me like that childish nickname they're still using in fifth year."

"I'm sorry I turned a blind eye for so long. What James did... What Sirius did... Those were awful. Both incidents could have put you in a six foot hole, a place no 15 year old should be."

Severus and Lily looked at him in surprise. 

"I know all about the... Incident. James confessed it to me the night he left. He knew all along, and you were right... Severus, he saved you to save himself. I will never forgive them for that either," Remus added.

 

"And you shouldn't! You're too good to be hanging out with them," Lily told him.

"I was hoping you guys could be my friends... I know it may be hard for you, Severus, but I've got no one now."

"I'll give it a shot Remus. Just know that forgiveness does not come easily for me. Should you do anything to hurt me, or those I care about in any way, I may find it difficult, if not impossible to forgive you a second time," Severus said and then shook Remus' hand.

"I understand."

-Three Weeks Later-

As September began to come to a close, signaling the rapid approach of October, Severus and Lily had just finished their classes with excellent success yet again. Luckily for them though, James Potter had given them no trouble since he had been back. He hadn't so much as talked to Severus or even Lily.

"Hey guys wait up!" Remus called out.

They both turned around and looked at him before Lily asked, "How'd your class go Remus?"

"Probably not as good as yours. You two are our genius couple after all, topping you is an impossible feat," Remus responded with a slight chuckle. 

The three of them had become pretty close friends in the last three weeks.

 

"Is everything alright Remus? You seem a little off today..." Severus asked, concern creeping into his voice.

"It's just... It's the first month you know... Without them. Their company always kept me relaxed, but now I don't know how I'm going to get through it."

"You will, Remus. You dealt with it before they came along, you will be able to deal with it now."

"Yeah, I guess. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared to go through it alone. But then again, it's still better than hanging around with awful people."

"I suppose that's true."

Remus then suddenly stopped and asked, "Hey Sev, do you mind helping me in potions? It's about the solutions."

Lily, confused, said "Remus that was weeks ago. Whatever grade you got in there is final we can't re-do it now!"

"Slughorn said I had until the middle of October if I want to retry. I already did once and did just as bad as the first time. This project is one of the biggest of the year and I don't want to get a failing grade on it."

"Alright, let's take a trip to the library. Get your things, and I'll tell you everything you need to know," Severus told him.

Once they arrived at the library, Severus pulled out his textbook. He opened to the page about solutions and began explaining them to Remus.

"Alright. Solutions, as you hopefully know, are potions that have been altered by powerful magic to change their effects and/or potency. The process is actually really simple if you get the potion itself correct. We used unicorn hair in class, which isn't the best thing to use to make solutions, but it is doable," Severus added. "Anyway, back to the main subject. Once the potion is done correctly, drop the unicorn hair in last, as Slughorn greatly pointed out. The effect will be immediate and your potion will look drastically different. For example, this here..." Severus pulled out a vial "Is a healing elixir of my own making. A solution. It was originally the most powerful pain reliever in the world- Starting as a white color with a golden vapor. As you can see now, it's crystal clear. The changes to its effects are what are really interesting. It not only relieves pain now, but also heals wounds at an incredibly fast rate. Now, about your project. Once the unicorn hair is added, it takes about 15 minutes for it to become neutral and therefore will not explode and set you on fire. Now if you remember what I just told you, you will get an O on this project."

"One thing has me curious about what you said. You said unicorn hair isn't the best to make solutions, what is?" Remus asked, curiously.

"There are only four magical creatures in this world that I know of that are powerful enough- All of which can have their hair used to make them," Severus said, "There's hair of a Veela, the weakest and least reliable, there's unicorn hair as you know, which is medium strength and there's hair of a Thestral which is very potent, but not maximum strength, and then there's one more which is incredibly rare, if not impossible to find these days... Angel hair. It has the maximum strength and is the most dangerous to work with due to it's highly potent magic."

"I've never heard of it... It does sound interesting though. Anyways, I better go talk to Slughorn about re-doing this project... Again. I'll catch up with you later," Remus said.

"Alright, tell us how it goes," Lily smiled.

After Remus had gone, she turned to Severus.

"Is it true what you said about Angels being real?"

"Yes Lily, they are real. Although there isn't a person alive today who has seen one, nor has there been in over 2,000 years. Some even consider them extinct because so much time has passed since an actual sighting."

"But what do you-" Lily started to say before Severus cut her off.

"If you are going to ask me what I know about them there's nothing concrete anywhere except for the fact that the first solution ever made was with Angel hair. I don't have access to any of my family relics, and everything else is just speculation. There's hundreds of legends and theories, but like I said, nothing concrete. Witches and wizards are said to be descendants of Angels, and many have searched for a very long time to find proof of their existence, my mother included."

"I wonder what other kind of mysteries are out there. I always wanted to find out since you told me I was a witch," Lily smiled.

"We will never know... There's just too many for us to comprehend."

Severus looks over at the clock and sees that an hour has passed. "I bet Remus is done with his project by now, we should ask him how he did."

However, just as they exited the library, they ran into him. 

"I was coming back for you guys! You were right Sev, he gave me 100%" Remus said excitedly.

"I told you," he smirked, "And you're welcome by the way; when it comes to potions I'm the man to ask."

Lily gave him a playful shove, and Remus shook Sev's hand in thanks. 

"I really don't know where I would have been without your help," Remus told him.

"It's no problem, Remus. I'll always be glad to help out a friend," Severus said.

Severus took Lily's hand and looked at her lovingly before they all walked off together to enjoy the last hour that they had before curfew. 

"This is not so bad at all. It's nice to have another friend besides Lily that isn't a Death Eater and doesn't openly disdain Muggleborns because blood status just doesn't matter. Not one damn bit. Pure-blood, Half-blood or Muggleborn, it does not matter. We're all witches and wizards," Severus thought to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are wondering no Sirius Black will not be evil in this story. He will actually become a very important character when the war begins. As for James and Peter I am not sure what to do with them just yet. I am a hardcore James Potter hater as many of you probably know and as for Peter I can't say I like him either. I'll come up with something for their characters though I always do. As for the twist on Angels I know they do not exist in the HP universe but I thought they would be a fun AU thing to throw in. I know many of you will wonder but no they will not be connected to religion or God in any way if I do decide to write or expand on them any further because this is not a religion fic. Also I cannot promise updates as frequently because my beta reader has a very busy schedule now and is unable to find the time to review my chapters. Any chapter from here on out until further notice I will not have a beta reader for and I am wary of writing without one.


	12. Battle in the Corridor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a beta reader for this chapter as she is too busy so if you guys find any mistakes let me know and I'll go back and fix them. Anyways here's chapter 12.

On a fine Saturday morning, James Potter was sitting with his two best friends fuming silently about Severus. The bastard had gotten him suspended and he was determined to make him pay by any means necessary. Take Snivellus out of the question and then he could have Lily all to himself-The two things he's always wanted. 

"Hey what's on your mind, mate?" Sirius asked. 

"Finding out a way to kick Snivellus' ass without getting myself into trouble again. Arrogant bastard thinks he's better than we are," James said.

"You could always use his own spell against him. Humiliate him worse than ever before."

"That's dark magic, Padfoot. That's a sure way to get me expelled and probably arrested," James said, shocked. 

"No, not that spell, Prongs. The other one...Levicorpus. I could have loads of fun with that, especially if it's in a crowded place," Sirius added, a menacing smirk crossing his face.

"I thought we were trying to get rid of him for good. We all know he's going to join the Death Eaters and try to drag Lily down with him. Don't forget that traitor Lupin either,"

"So that's what this is about, Prongs? This is about Lily isn't it? When are you going to let it go? She's with Snivellus, loath as I am to admit it. But all this about 'getting rid of him' isn't about stopping a future Death Eater is it? It's about trying to steal Lily from him. She isn't a trophy to be won, Prongs she's a human being. Maybe if you understood that she would have chosen you." Sirius said, somewhat irritated. 

"You wouldn't understand, Padfoot..." 

"Oh I'm sure I wouldn't. I am a lot smarter than you give me credit for. Attacking Snivellus just because you want to woo Lily? They've been friends since before Hogwarts do you really think getting her away from him will be that easy? Have you actually observed them when they're together? I hate Snivellus with every fiber of my being and I honestly could not care less what happens to him but you would be hurting Lily as well if you rip apart their relationship. And would you really be so cold as to turn on Remus just because he decided he doesn't want to hang out with us anymore?" Sirius said. 

"Like you're so innocent. You're the one who led him under the Whomping Willow in the first place!" James responded.

"And you're the one who confessed it to him! You're the one who threw the firework into Snivellus' cauldron which, by the way, someone could have died from that and you're damn lucky no one else was hurt. You are a lot more at fault for him leaving us than I am!" Sirius said and then angrily walked away.

Remus was a bit of a sore subject for Sirius. Maybe bringing him up was not such a great idea, but that still did not make the angry feelings towards him go away. He left them for their greatest enemy, a Death Eater in training! What James wouldn't give just to use that Sectumsempra curse against the greasy git and be done with him forever. He knew that Snivellus wanted to use it against him because why else would he have created it? 'Get him before he gets me' as the saying goes. He wanted to be sure the disgusting snake could never bother anyone ever again. 

"I am with you, James. Snivellus needs to disappear and Lupin needs to be taught a lesson. I'll distract them, you handle the rest," Peter said. 

James grabbed his invisibility cloak and he and Peter began searching the castle for any sign of the ones they seek. They did not however find them inside anywhere so James decided to search outside as he knows Severus likes to hang around outside a lot when Peter interrupted him. 

"Maybe they're in the so-called abandoned corridor that almost nobody visits. I know that's where Severus practiced his curses at so maybe Remus and Lily followed him," he said. 

James and Peter then decide to go to the abandoned corridor. They both stopped as they heard the voices of Remus and Lily but Severus seemed to be absent. 'Looks like Wormtail was right after all! They are here and Snivellus will probably be with them shortly. For now, Lupin will do just fine. 

 

Remus suddenly had the feeling that he was being watched. He turned around but nobody was there. "Who's there?" He called out, but nobody answered. 

"it's probably nothing, Remus let's just wait for Sev. I don't know why he told us to wait here in the first place this corridor has always given me the creeps," Lily said. 

Suddenly, Remus was knocked off his feet after being hit with a spell. He angrily stood up and sent a blasting curse at the direction it came from, however it hit no one. Remus conjured a gust of wind which filled the whole corridor and blew the cloak off James and Peter. Lily joined him, wand in hand. 

"Wow, you guys. Attacking Remus now are we? Maybe you finally grew a brain and realized that Sev will always be twice the wizard you will ever be!" Lily spat. 

James ignored her and sent another hex at Remus, who casually stepped to the side.

"Expelliarmus!" Lily cried. 

The spell, however, missed James but sent Peter's wand flying high into the air and Lily caught it in her left hand. 

"Two against one, James. You know you won't be able to take us both. You're not smart enough to do so," Remus said.

"SHUT UP!" James roared, sending another curse at Remus and he, yet again, stepped out of the way. 

Remus stunned Peter and then fired another stunner at James, but he blocked it. 

"What the hell?" Severus said, walking into view, however James was quick and blew Severus backward after catching him off-guard. 

"That's what you get Snivellus!" James shouted with glee. 

James turned and then sent a blasting curse at Remus, which hit both him and Lily. Lily was knocked off her feet and Remus was blown back quite a ways. James turned around and saw Severus coming back toward him and he smiled and began to raise his wand to strike when the unthinkable happened...

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Remus had shouted from the other end of the corridor. James' wand fell from his limp hand as he fell to the ground, blood running like a faucet out of the deep gash that was now visible in his abdomen. 

"Remus, what did you do?" Lily asked, staring at him in shock. 

"I didn't...I didn't know..." Remus said. He dropped his wand and ran over to James, desperately trying to stop the blood flow using the bit of healing magic he did know. 

Severus hastily shoved Remus to the ground and knelt beside James, drew his wand and began tracing it over the wound. "Vulnera Sanentur..." he sung in an almost angelic voice. The flow of blood began to slow. "Vulnera Sanentur..." the cut flesh was now beginning to knit together. "Vulnera Sanentur..." the blood was beginning to dissipate from his clothes and the floor, leaving no evidence of the spell behind except a faint thin line across James' stomach. 

Severus looked to Peter who had just woken up and told him to get James to the hospital wing right away. 

"Remus...why?" he then asked, in a tone of voice that not even Lily had heard him speak in. 

"I didn't know how strong it was...I didn't mean to..." Remus responded, visibly shaking. 

"We're going to have to answer to Dumbledore about this you know. How did you even learn that spell to begin with? More importantly why did you use it when I specifically wrote in there what it does?" Severus asked, sternly. 

"I...I don't know. I just wanted to stop him from hurting anyone else. I wasn't trying to kill him!" 

"After everything he did to me it was almost a relief to see that happen to him, but I do not want to see you take that fall for me, Remus. Please do not use that spell again unless it is absolutely a life or death situation. You are one of the few friends I've ever had and you always showed me a hint of kindness even when they were torturing me. I care very much about you, too much to see you go down for a prat like Potter." 

Lily quickly ran over to Severus and hugged him tightly as if she could feel his sadness. He hugged her back and the two of them said nothing and just stared at each other. Then the voice of Albus Dumbledore came from the hallway.

"Mr. Snape, Mr. Lupin and Miss Evans will you three come with me please" he said in a tone that all of them knew was his serious tone. 

They followed him, not daring to say a word to one another, just walking silently side by side. Severus looked at Remus with a sort of sad look on his face and then took Lily's hand in his own and held it so fiercely as if his own life depended on it. His gorgeous angel always made him feel better no matter how bad the situation gets. The three finally arrived at Dumbledore's office and they sat down and he looked at them sternly. "So...what happened? Tell me every single detail please," he said with every ounce of seriousness in his voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you guys know I am working on chapter 13. I don't know if today will be a double update but you can expect it to be coming real soon.


	13. A Mere Miracle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13 as promised <3

"So...what happened? Tell me every single detail please," Dumbledore said.

"Sir...it's not what it looks like," Remus said frantically. "We were just minding our own business when suddenly James and Peter attacked us for no apparent reason. I knew someone was there, but when I called out there was no response and then suddenly I was hit with a spell and nearly knocked unconscious. Severus was not with us it was just me and Lily." 

"And where were you at the time Severus?"

"I went outside for a few minutes of fresh air. I came back inside and I heard commotion and when I went to investigate, Potter had blasted me back with a spell. I got back up and I was about to counter-attack when Remus used Sectumsempra on him. A spell of my own making," Severus responded calmly. 

"And why would you create a spell of such dark nature, Severus?" 

"I made it as a way to defend myself against Potter, Black and Pettigrew. While tempting, when I realized how destructive the spell can be, I decided not to use it as it could kill."

Dumbledore turned his attention back to Remus "and why would you use this on another person, Remus?"

Remus hesitated to answer. "If I have not made myself clear, all three of you could be facing expulsion if you do not help me get to the bottom of this. Now I will ask again, Remus why did you use a spell of such dark nature?" Dumbledore said, much more seriously. 

"I wasn't trying to fatally injure him! I was aiming for his arm, hoping to make him drop his wand. I did not know how powerful the spell was! If I could take that moment back I would, I swear!" 

Dumbledore took a second to think. "I am going to go get a report on the current condition of James Potter. You three stay put. When I get back and when I have heard the story from both sides then I will decide what appropriate action needs to be taken." 

Dumbledore returned 10 minutes later with a look of relief on his face.

"How is he?" Lily asked.

"He's very lucky to be alive. The spell cut clean through his stomach as well as a lung," Dumbledore said and then turned to look at Remus. "I believe your story about James attacking first, however you mortally wounded another student of this school. The only reason you are not expelled right here and now is because it was in self defense and the damage done was accidental. However, you must consider this your stern warning. If you cast any more magic that results in the bodily harm of another student you will face a rather lengthy temporary suspension and a third offense will result in permanent expulsion, is that clear?"

Remus nodded. "Good. You and Miss Evans may go. As for you Mr. Snape will you stay behind for a moment?" 

Remus left without a word and Lily followed after a lingering look between her and Severus. 

"What do you need, Sir?" Severus asked. 

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior toward you last year. I understand it was wrong of me to threaten you with expulsion for the wrongdoings of another. I just wanted to protect Remus, he already has a hard enough time as it is." Dumbledore responded. 

"If that is all I need to go talk to Remus and make sure he is okay. This has been really hard on him. He feels really bad for what he did, you know that right?" 

"I do, Severus. However, I cannot let an incident like this slide without making the severity of it known. I do not enjoy being put in the position of deciding whether to suspend or expel a student. So therefore I ask for your forgiveness and your promise that you won't ever use that spell against another student in this school."

"I won't ever use it against a human being unless it was a life or death situation. When I realized what it can do when I made it, I decided that would be the only time I would use it against someone else." 

Dumbledore seemed to accept his answer. "Very well then. You may go."

Severus left Dumbledore's office to find Remus and Lily. He finally found them at last when he saw Lily talking comfortably to him. To Severus' shock, however, Remus was actually crying. 

"Hey Remus, how are you holding up?" Severus asked.

"Why didn't he expel me? He had every reason to. I don't deserve to be here after what I did," Remus said. 

"It was an accident, Remus. Loath as I am to admit it, the important part is that Potter survived. It is natural that you feel this way but you DO deserve to be here as much as the rest of us do," Lily said, comfortingly. 

Severus took her hand. "I agree with her, Remus. You said you were aiming for his hand and I believe you. If it's anyone's fault it would be Potter's. He's the one who attacked and provoked you in the first place. If he had just left you alone he wouldn't have been hurt."

Remus nodded. "I just need some time alone. I promise I'll be fine. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow," and with that he walked off. 

Lily turned to Severus "do you think he'll be okay?" she asked. 

"No, I really don't. At least not for a while."

Lily hugged him tightly. "I just couldn't help but think...what if that had been you? He came looking to fight you but got me and Remus instead." 

He wrapped his arms around her but kept her far enough away to look into her eyes. "It won't ever be, my angel. Potter doesn't have the guts to use a spell like that. Besides I know the counter-curse I could have reversed it."

"I just...I can't, Sev. Potter knows that spell for sure now that Remus used it against him. He knows what it can do and he knows how to seriously hurt you now." Her voice sounded strained as if she was struggling not to cry. 

"Lily..." 

"Promise me you will be careful around him, Sev. We both know what he's capable of." 

"Lily, I'll be fine. He won't ever be able to hurt me, not really."

"No, Sev I want to hear you say it. Promise me."

He looked into her eyes once more and then wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I promise, Lily." 

 

The following day did not improve much for any of them. After the Sectumsempra incident, the entire school now felt like it had a dark cloud hanging over it. Nobody knew what spell had been used, of course, but word spread real quickly about James Potter's condition after his encounter with Remus and Lily. As for Severus, nothing changed for him really. Remus was thankful that nobody blamed him for the incident, as they had heard about Potter's plans before it all happened and decided that he had it coming for a long time. As for Lily, she found herself in a situation about whether or not to go and visit Potter and see how he's doing. She eventually decided against it though as it would make it seem like she had an interest in him at least in his eyes and then he would start trying to ask her out at every corner once again, which is the last thing she wants. Sirius still wishes Remus would be his friend again and even promised that he would stop bullying Severus, but Remus of course did not believe him as he knew he was lying. Peter was not sure what to do, he was too scared to confront anybody alone, much less the three who nearly drove James to his grave. Seeing this effect on everybody was very depressing for Remus as he knew he was the one who caused it. He knew it was an accident but still that doesn't make him feel any better, he nearly killed someone. Severus and Lily walked up to him and Severus put his hand on Remus' shoulder in a comforting way. 

"It will all settle down eventually. I'm sure of it," Severus said before sitting down next to him and wrapping his arm around Lily's waist. 

"Yeah. Eventually," Remus responded.


	14. Unbearable News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys...it's been a long time since I've been here but I have three college classes and a ton of work that just never seems to end. Luckily one of them is ending in March so that should free up some time. I also just recently went through a rather nasty break-up so I've been quite depressed, please forgive my lack of interest in writing while I was trying to get myself together. Here's the 14th of many chapters as I promised I would get done when I could. 
> 
> WARNING: Extremely sad content ahead.

October has long since arrived after "the incident" and the temperatures are growing colder by the day, but, despite Severus' promise that things would get better, they have not improved much. Although Remus was feeling a bit better about himself and can somewhat justify his actions, Peter always looked at him with deep disdain for the harm he caused his friend and Sirius was still unsure of what to do. Severus was acting rather strangely today though, like half the time he can barely function and the other half with him acting as if he is a bomb about to explode at any moment. Severus' temper is not exactly breaking news, but, even he had to admit this was unusual for Severus. When he really started to worry though was the moment Lily came to him and begged him to talk to Severus as he refused to speak to her about anything at all. Remus quickly went to go search for him and he was rather easy to find.

"Well, what has the Snake done this time?" Remus said, voice laced with deep disappointment.

"Nice to see you too Remus," Severus responded.

"Don't give me that. What have you done to upset Lily so much that she's coming to me begging that I speak with you?"

"Please, Remus. Don't come to me on Lily's behalf. We have Defense as our last class and then I'll speak to her. This alternating schedule they implemented this year is getting on my nerves I'm telling you," Severus finished.

"Look, you don't want to talk to me that's fine, I can tell something has greatly upset you. But Lily deserves to know why you are making her feel like you are upset with her. For Merlin's sake, Severus she loves you! You are one of the greatest friends I've ever had! At least talk to her and then when you're ready you can talk to me," with that, he walked away.

Severus nodded and then headed off to Defense, where his performance was as poor as it had ever been. He just could not focus with the news he had received last night. This was something both professors Slughorn and Atkins (this year's Defense professor) took note of, but when they tried to talk to him he just brushed them off, much like he had brushed Lily off earlier. He had promised to talk to her after class but he would not repeat this story a second time, not until he had come to terms with it himself. He walked away from Defense class with a zero due to his failure to correctly perform the spell for today's lesson. A spell which he never even caught the incantation of because he was too focused on himself, trying not to cry.

"Sev, please what is going on with you?" Lily asked, frantic.

When they were alone he just hugged her and cried.

"My mother..." he said, barely a whisper.

"What about her, Sev? Is everything okay?" She asked.

"My mother...she died last night."

"Oh, Sev I'm so sorry. Do they know what happened?"

"No, not for sure. But they suspect my father did something. I'm going to talk to Dumbledore and I'm going home at least until after her funeral."

"Wait, you're leaving?" She asked, suddenly looking him directly in the eye.

"Not permanently, Lily. You saw me today, I couldn't focus, I couldn't do anything. Take care of Remus when I'm away, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid or make sure those pricks don't try to get him back for what happened."

"I'm not staying here if you aren't here. I am going with you, Sev."

"No, Lily. I am not going to allow you to miss a week of classes on my behalf and neither will your parents, you know that."

"They will understand and you will be thankful for my presence when you can think with your brain again. I love you, Severus Snape and if you think I am going to let you go through this alone you are mistaken. I know this is hard for you to get used to, Sev but when you sought a relationship with me that was a saying between us that we would always be there for each other. You have known so little love in your life and that breaks my heart, but as long as I am around, you will never be alone again," Lily said.

"Thank you, my sweet angel," he said, before looking her in the eyes and kissing her deeply, which she eagerly returned.

A few minutes later after they finished kissing and hugging each other as if their very lives depended on it, they walked to Dumbledore's office.

"Ah, Severus, I was about to go looking for you," Dumbledore said.

"So, you know what happened then, Sir?" Severus asked.

"I am well aware, Severus. I am very sorry to hear about Eileen's passing. She was one of the top students here during her time."

"I have a request to make. Can you permit me to take a week off just until after her funeral? Lily wishes to join me, make sure I don't do something stupid I'm sure," he added and Lily looked at him while shaking her head and fighting to keep the grin off her face.

"It's already done, Severus. I was coming to tell you this but you came here instead. I will make arrangements for you two to catch up on any work that you will miss during that time period. I will also make Remus aware of the situation if you wish."

"It will be greatly appreciated, Sir"

With that, they left and packed anything necessary for the next week.

Upon arriving back at Cokeworth, things took a turn for the worst. After making John and Violet Evans aware of the situation, they offered their condolences of course, something Severus was very thankful for, but Petunia had arrived just after the news had been delivered and began insulting both Severus and Lily, Severus the most.

"Is this Freak still living with us? Why isn't he going back home to that rundown hovel he was born and raised in?" she asked rather rudely.

"Petunia..." Lily said, warningly but it was too late and Severus had snapped. In less than a second, his wand was in his hand and he had shoved his way over to Petunia and held his wand directly in her face. He had enough magical energy pouring off of him to put the fear of God into the Dark Lord himself.

"LISTEN TO ME YOU ARROGANT BITCH! MY MOTHER DIED LAST NIGHT! MY MOTHER! AND YOU DARE SINK SO LOW AS TO MAKE FUN OF A DEAD WOMAN'S EFFORTS WHEN SHE ISN'T EVEN IN THE GROUND YET?!" He yelled in a voice so loud it was hard to place it as his.

He finally backed off after Lily, Violet and John managed to diffuse his rage enough to get him to see reason. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone off like I did..." he said.

"Don't be, Severus. You suffered a great loss, it's understandable you would react badly to something like that. We warned her not to say anything but she didn't listen to us. I was glad you didn't harm her, but I also hope she learned her lesson from that encounter," John said.

"But it was inappropriate. You felt the energy as much as I did. The magical core is fueled by strong emotion such as rage and I nearly lost control of it. I could have seriously hurt her and as much as she pisses me off, I would not want to do that. I did not handle it in a good way," Severus said.

"You would be surprised at how many of us Muggles feel the same way, Severus. I sure did when I lost my mother. You may have abilities me and Violet will never have, but deep down we're all human and we all have emotions. It is completely natural for you to feel this way, but trust me, overtime you will forget how much it hurts and you'll come to appreciate the time you did have with her, even if the experiences weren't always good. She always knew what was best for you and she loved you. That is what is important."

Violet and Lily looked at John, surprised at how much the two have in common and how easily he was able to tell this story. They both knew what happened of course but he never spoke about it until now.

Severus nodded and said no more before going upstairs to cool off and to spend some time alone. However, a letter was delivered to him by an owl he immediately recognized as Remus'. He quickly tore it open and it read:

 

Severus,

I am very sorry to hear about your mother, Dumbledore has just informed me of what happened. Take all the time you need and don’t you dare spend it worrying over me, you got bigger things to worry about. I’ll be fine.  
-R.L.

Severus quickly made his reply:

Remus, 

I'll be back in a week.  
-S.S

He sent the letter back with the owl and then laid down on his bed and cried silently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the strange letter format, I could not get the italicizing to work right. If I can figure out how to fix whatever went wrong I'll go back and do that but for now we'll just have to stick with it I'm afraid.


	15. Our Darkest Hour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome back! Tonight I bring you the 15th chapter! This one as well as chapter 16 will be about Severus' time away from Hogwarts and how he deals with the devastating blow of his mother Eileen's death. 
> 
> WARNING: Mentions of rape and other highly disturbing content in this chapter.

Severus woke up the following morning feeling as if he had died on the inside. His mother, the woman who had brought him to life and had fallen victim to his bastard father's abuse numerous times for him was gone forever. He was angry and bitter towards her when she refused to leave his father due to her complete lack of confidence in herself to do so. Lily and her parents were doing all they could to make him feel better but nothing seemed to be working. Two days later there was a knock on the door and Violet's voice was heard on the other side. 

"Severus are you alright in there?" she asked. 

"I'm fine, Violet. As fine as I can be given the circumstances," Severus responded. 

"Is he awake?" Lily asked.

Violet just nodded warily and walked away. Lily knocked softly on the door before opening it. Severus looked terrible as if he had barely slept at all the previous night. 

"Sev, I am not even going to ask how you are doing because I know the answer to that question. Mom and Dad have told Petunia that you are absolutely off-limits and not to be disturbed," she said. 

"Lily, I appreciate your support I truly do as well as your parents' support but I need to grieve alone. I need to work out what happened and come to terms with it my own way." 

Lily looked at him warily. "I'm not going to do anything stupid, I promise," he added and she turned to leave. 

"Also, I know you don't want to hear this right now Sev but you need to. Your mother's death was investigated and determined by the Muggle authorities as a murder. She was in fact murdered, Sev, as you suspected. I do not know anything else."

"I know what happened, Lily. I know that bastard killed her. There may be no proof of that as of right now but who else would have wanted to do her harm? She has not had contact with the outside world in over 12 years, Lily. Most people have forgotten she even existed, her own family included! Her death had to be solved by the Muggle authorities for Merlin's sake. I will not let him get away with this. He will own up to what he did. I know what you are thinking and although every bone in my body wants to, no I am not going to kill him. He's not worth that kind of time." 

She knew not to try to reason with him further. She kissed him gently and lovingly and he pulled her closer and kissed her back, burying his hands in her gorgeous hair. After several moments they broke apart. 

"Hey, Angel? I love you," Severus said. 

"I love you too, Sev. I love you so much," she responded, happily before leaving. 

Severus continued to pass his time by reading as usual. He could not handle contact with anyone right now. He was being honest when he said this was something he needed to do alone. Little did he know that tomorrow would bring events and revelations that would make today seem like a breeze...

 

Tomorrow had finally arrived. Today was the day Severus would finally be able to say goodbye once and for all and start on his road to recovery. He decided to go downstairs and join Lily and her parents at lunch to be social for the first time since he had been home. 

"Ah, Severus. You finally decided to join us?" John said, surprised. 

"I have not fully come to terms with what happened and it is not any easier but I figured a good place to start would be to interact with those who love me that are still here than to shut myself away and constantly dwell on those that are not. I will always love and remember my mother but...sometimes I forget that you guys are here too," Severus responded, surprising everyone even more. 

"Well it certainly is a good thing you decided to join us, I was about to come fetch you. This came for you today," Violet said, holding up a letter. 

"What is it?" Severus asked, curiously. 

"I have no idea. It was written by your mother, Sev it has her name on it. We couldn't open it though, it has some kind of a fail-safe system spelled into it, making you the only one who can do so," Lily said. 

Severus took the letter and opened it. It was a rather long letter which surprised him as his mother was never one to write much. The letter read:

Severus, my dear sweet child,

I know you will have a lot of questions when you read this and I will do the best I can to answer them. I managed to cast two fail-safe charms into this letter making you the only one who can access it as well as making it only appear if something has happened to me. I have pre-rendered this entire message and I am afraid to say that if you are reading this then I can no longer be with you. That day you and Lily came to the house and you attacked your father, something I find very brave and honorable, he did not comply with what you demanded at all. I know you tried to communicate with me but he always destroyed the letters before I could see them. He did horrible things to me, Severus as a way of hurting you. He tied me up and forcibly raped me repeatedly which is nothing new by any means as at this point there was nothing he could have done to me that he hadn't already in the past. When he finally let me go when he grew tired of doing this he went away for some time. During that time I found out something I never thought would happen again. I found out I was pregnant, Severus. My nearly extinguished magical core managed to detect the little life I had growing inside of me. He was so bent on hurting you and me that he forgot to use proper countermeasures, something that had not happened since I had you. When I found out I finally got the courage to do what you had demanded me to all those years ago. I reached out to the last surviving member of my family and he never even knew I existed which, again I am not surprised. He was of course happy to hear from me and he did not hesitate to help me. I suspect you will be meeting him soon. As for what happened to me...I knew what would happen if Tobias found out I was planning to leave him and especially if he found out I was carrying another spawn. I just want you to know that I stood my ground. The only thing I want is to beg of you to not take vengeance against Tobias. You have too good of a heart to taint it with the murder of someone who isn't even worthy of such an easy way to leave this world. I am afraid this is goodbye now my little Princeling. I will always be with you in your heart and don't you ever forget that.  
-Your mother, Eileen Prince. 

Severus could not move, could not even comprehend what he had just read. His mother had been pregnant...a little innocent unborn child murdered along with her. 

"Sev, what is it?" Lily asked.

"No...it can't be! She must have been wrong!" 

Everyone was staring at him, confused. Severus read the letter over again. It couldn't be, there had to be some kind of mistake. His father made damn sure that there wouldn't have been another child being born in the Snape household, even when he did the most cruel things to his mother. 

"She...she was..." he couldn't even bring himself to say it. 

"She was what, Severus?" Violet asked. 

"She was pregnant..." Severus said before breaking down in front of everyone...something he swore he would never do. 

 

Meanwhile Tobias Snape had been drinking as usual. It was as if nothing had even happened in the first place. Then suddenly there was a loud 'crack' and a man had appeared in dark colored robes and he was standing in the doorway looking right at Tobias. 

"Who the hell are you?!" Tobias bellowed.

"Someone who has come to do right by Eileen you rotten scum," the man said, his voice seething with absolute hatred. 

"Oh that bitch huh? I would have given her to you free of charge but unfortunate circumstances occurred the other night and...well she isn't here anymore," Tobias said, voice completely void of emotion. 

The man quickly grabbed Tobias by the throat and threw him up against the wall. "You dare talk about her that way? You are the reason she lost all her potential. I am going to find her child and I will tell him I made things right. He may not agree with me at first but he'll come around," he added with a malicious smirk. 

Tobias looked at the man confused and slightly afraid now. "What do you mean by that?" 

"I mean...you're going to die tonight Tobias," the man said, pulling a large dagger out of his robes. 

Tobias had little time to react before the man plunged it directly into his abdomen. He groaned and blood flowed over the dagger immediately. 

"That was for Eileen..." the man pulled the 10 inch blade out and then said "and this is for Athena, your would-be daughter." before plunging it directly into Tobias' heart, ending his life once and for all. He then disappeared with a loud 'crack' exactly as he had entered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you all start bashing me about the content of this chapter I am going to tell you one thing: this was not easy for me to write by any means. Yes this may seem like it was thrown in for shock value but I am not adding anything into this story that does not serve some kind of purpose. This serves a huge purpose, not just for Severus but for everyone. I am not going to go into too much detail right now but know that this was not just added in for shock value. Now onto the stuff I am sure you will be thinking aside from that. 
> 
> Who is this mystery killer? Is he a good guy or a bad guy? How did he know the unborn child was going to be a girl and was going to be named Athena? All will be resolved in time I promise you that.


	16. Inias Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is late, but I was having some issues with AO3. It was not showing the chapter I had posted, I don't know if this was a computer issue or a site issue but it's fixed now I think. So sit back and enjoy chapter 16 :)

The day had arrived at once. The day Severus would say goodbye to his mother one last time. Severus had insisted on going alone, but after some convincing he agreed to let Lily and the Evans' come along. Remus had wanted to come too but Lily had told him that Severus was beyond reasoning as of right now and he made no other attempt to contact them since. Severus was not surprised to find that there were only three other people aside from him, Lily and her parents that showed up. One of these people seemed vaguely familiar but he could by no means put a name to him. Lily walked up to him alongside her parents. 

"Sev. it's time. Would you like to say anything to her?" she asked. 

Severus did not say anything and just nodded. He walked over to what would be her eternal resting place. 

"Mother...I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I didn't get you out of there sooner, that I didn't protect you better. I spent so much of my life resenting you for making me stay at that hell hole, making me suffer years of abuse at the hands of that filthy abomination. But none of that matters now. The only thing that matters is that you are forever gone from my life thanks to him. You and my unborn sibling who would never have had to endure his physical and mental torture. I know you told me not to take vengeance on him but you have no idea how hard that is, mother. You have no idea how much I want to go storm through the front door and take him apart piece by bloody piece. But I will not do that because you asked me not to. I will honor your final wish to me. Rest now, mother. You will forever be in my heart, no matter what happens," he finished, wiping tears from his eyes. 

"Sev..." Lily started to say but he just shook his head and hugged her tightly. He then hugged both John and Violet. 

"Don't you guys ever leave me," he said. 

"We don't plan on it, Severus. Not any time soon anyway," John said. 

Just then the person Severus could have sworn was familiar came up to them. 

"Severus, I will need you to come with me once you're done. I will explain everything and I will try not to keep you too long," he said before walking away and letting him finish.

Severus nodded to him, warily and then turned back to John. 

"Look, Severus. I would be lying if I said the pain will just go away immediately. But as time goes by you will forget how much it hurts that she's gone and you will remember the time that you did have with her, even if the time wasn't always wonderful," John said.

"I know. I just need time like I said. Now I am going to find out what this guy wants. I don't think he's anybody who wishes me harm but just in case I will be prepared."

He then walked over to the unidentified man who then put a hand on his shoulder and he felt a sensation of being sucked through a tube before landing in a bright room full of bookshelves loaded with books he had never even heard of before, much less seen. The man then spoke up. 

"Welcome to the Prince Library. I'm Inias Prince. Eileen was my niece. I know you have a lot of questions but I will answer one I know you have right now. I did not even know Eileen existed until she contacted me. I walked away from the family because I refused to buy into my brother's Pure Blood Elitism, just like Eileen had."

"How did you get all of this then?" Severus asked. 

"Since you and I are the only remaining survivors of the Prince bloodline everything was given to me, even though I walked away from them," Inias responded calmly. 

Severus then sees something he knew was familiar. One of the few things that his mother still owned but overtime found herself unable to use...her wand. 

"Where did you get that?" Severus asked. 

"I took it from your old house...after I took Tobias Snape's life," he gestured to the long, rune-carved silver blade that laid rest on a stand behind him. 

"You killed him? Why would you do that? My mother had asked that I not take vengeance on him and she would have asked the same of you." 

"She did, Severus. She did indeed tell me to leave him alone but I couldn't do that. Do you really think you would have truly stuck by what you said to her as she was laid to rest? Maybe for a minute. But as time went on, your need for revenge would have grown and grown until you could no longer fight it. I was not about to let you take that fall." 

"It was not your place to do so," Severus said, resentment threatening to creep into his voice. 

"It was my place, Severus. You are as much family as she was. I may not have known about you until a few days ago but that does not matter. I would like to get to know you more but that does not mean I consider you anything less than family. I was not about to let you destroy yourself by taking what little life remained in the pathetic sack once known as Tobias Snape. Absolutely not," Inias said, sternly but still calm. 

"What is all of this anyway?" Severus asked, trying to change the subject. 

"As I said, it's what I consider the Prince Library. It's rather massive, any book you can think of for any kind of information in the world you can bet your tail it's in here somewhere." 

Severus looked through a stack of books, rather shocked by what he saw. It was mesmerizing beyond his wildest dreams. However one particular book caught his eye immediately. The book was titled "Angels: What Are They Exactly?" 

"Oh that one there." Inias said, noticing Severus' interest in it. "That one is rather...complex if you would. It's a very touchy subject, something very few still believe in, as there has not been proof of the existence of Angels in a very long time." 

"My girlfriend is interested in them. I had to explain to her that only my family would know for sure, those that were left. She would definitely enjoy this if it's what I think it is." 

"One thing to know for sure as this book highly illustrates. Angels are by no means what the Muggles believe they are. They are magical beings of immense power they did get that part correct, however they are not servants of God as they believe. They are the Precursors of Wizardkind. Our entire world had began with them. I don't know much more as not even I read the entire book, but you should take that with you. You might find it very useful." 

"Wait, one more thing before you send me back, that blade. What do those runes represent? I've never seen anything like it." 

"It's the Preserver of Light. Supposedly it can destroy the most powerful dark objects, creatures and other beings you can think of. It's spelled with ancient magic. I have no idea how it got here or where it came from, just what my ancestors called it and it's supposed purpose. You should get back, you can contact me any time you like. The people back home will start to get worried that I am some evil wizard or something," he added with a chuckle before handing the book to Severus and touching his hand to his shoulder. 

Severus was then zapped back in front of the Evans house in mere seconds, with the new book in hand. He walked inside and Lily ran up to him and hugged him. 

"Sev! I was so worried, what took you so long? And where did you get that book?" Lily asked. 

"I'll explain everything to you all okay. It's rather complicated so I'll keep it short. That man was my mother's uncle. His name is Inias Prince."

That definitely got her attention. "But I thought all of your family members were gone, or Pure Blood Elitists." 

"I thought so too, Lily. He wasn't even aware of her existence because he had left the family because he had enough of his brother's Pure Blood Elitism."

"I can understand that." 

"As for this book, I think it's something you will enjoy considering all the questions you asked me some time ago about one particular subject," he said with a grin before handing it to her. 

Lily's eyes went wide when she saw the title. "Is this..." 

"Yes, Lily. It's what I said was probably buried deep within my family's many possessions. I finally got it." 

"I'm sorry, Sev I need to read this right away." 

"It's okay, my love. Take your time. I never knew why you were so interested but since you were I decided to give this to you." 

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek before going upstairs to her room. John and Violet were grinning from across the room. 

"You seem better already, Severus," Violet said. 

"I think I am. It doesn't hurt any less, but I think Inias Prince is a good person. I may finally have a family member that isn't you guys, dead or a total jackass." 

"Well you deserve some happiness, Severus. If you are happy talking to him then that is all that matters. Your mother trusted him, I don't see any reason why you can't as well." 

Severus nodded and for once in his life he felt that things were actually going to be okay despite the current circumstances. He has a feeling that he will get along great with the last surviving Prince family member once they get to know each other a bit more.


	17. Hard Lessons Taught

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bringing you guys a new chapter while I can. I love you all and I hope you enjoy this update. I have also decided that when James, Peter and Sirius are not mentioned in dialogue they will be referred to by their first names so it fits in with everyone else. Mind you this is just experimental, I haven't decided if I will keep it this way or not. If you guys prefer the old way I will go back and change it.

The weeks following the passing of Eileen Prince were much more difficult than Severus would have liked. He had missed much of his school work and was immediately attacked by James Potter and his cronies upon returning as they knew he wasn't in his best state. This incident nearly landed him in the Hospital Wing yet again and since nobody was around to prove anything they got away with it, naturally. Lily was also too busy trying to catch up on what she had missed and she doesn't work nearly as quickly as he does and insists on doing her work free of help as usual so the two of them seldom had free time to spend together. However, he was able to take advantage of this and get to know her friends a little bit better. He finally worked up the courage to talk to them in the Library when Lily wasn't around. He walked over to where Mary, Frank, Alive and a blonde haired girl whose face he could not see as she was not facing him. 

"Hello," he said, unsure of exactly what to say. 

"Hi, Snape. This is a surprise. You normally don't talk to us if Lily isn't with you," Frank said, surprised at his interaction. 

"Yeah well, if I am ever going to get anywhere in life I will need to start talking to people. Why not start now?" 

"How are you doing? I know you and I aren't exactly friends quite yet but Lily told us what happened." 

"I'm doing okay, Frank. As much as it hurts knowing my mother is gone, I feel better knowing that she is much better off wherever she is." 

"Have Potter and his useless band of lackeys been giving you any trouble? I told them to stop or rather demanded they stop after last week," said a girl with blonde hair, whom Severus recognized as Cassandra. 

"Unfortunately yes they have, Cassandra. It seems like they've gone back to their old ways of pranking and downright bullying. As if a few detentions and house point deductions are going to be enough to show them. If a suspension wasn't enough to teach Potter, I don't think anything will," Severus responded bitterly. 

"They are trying to put a stop to it you know. Unfortunately there isn't much anything anyone can do until they do something serious enough to warrant a suspension or expulsion," Mary said. 

"I know their heart is in the right place, Mary. It will take a lot more than a few times though for me to be able to trust them completely though. All of the times they have let me down will not easily be forgiven." 

"I have to agree with you and Lily on that one, Severus. The bias toward Slytherin house is highly unfair and I believe it causes many more problems than what they think. Just because someone goes to Slytherin house does not mean that they're evil. Now that Death Eater lot, Mulciber and Avery yeah they're a bad bunch but as far as I can tell most of them are good," Alice added, somewhat irritably. 

"They are Alice and that's the issue. I may not exactly be friends with them all but constantly being shunned and immediately classified as an evil person because of something as stupid as what house they're in, that is where most of the problems come from. That's why I nearly turned down a road of no return and I would have done so if not for Lily" Severus said, shamefully. 

"But you didn't and that's what matters. You focus too much on the past. You would do better if you looked to the future. Especially the future with you and Lily," Frank said with a slight smile. 

"W-what?" Severus stammered. 

"Don't think I don't know your intentions with her in the future, Mr. Snape. That's good though because any alternative ending and I'll have to kick your sorry tail."

"Don't worry. There won't be any other ending aside from me marrying her and living a long happy life with her," Severus said proudly. Everyone else had to smile at that once they got over their surprise at how quickly and bluntly he said that. 

"Well that's good, Severus. I know we're only in fifth year but you two are so great together. I have no doubt that will be the future of you and her. She loves you as much as you love her. You're her entire world," Cassandra said. 

"Well we've got to go, it's time for class unfortunately. We'll see you next time, Severus," Frank said before he and everyone else walked away. 

'maybe this won't be so bad after all' Severus thought to himself. Unfortunately as he walked out into the corridor he was confronted by James, Sirius and Peter. 

"So...you think you are going to marry Evans, Snivellus? I knew you were an idiot and a dunderhead but I never once thought you were delusional," James said. 

"Potter," Severus growled, wand in hand immediately. 

"Not so fast, you slimeball. EXPELLIARMUS!" Sirius roared and Severus' wand flew out of his hand and was caught by Sirius. 

'Damn if only I knew how to do wandless magic,' Severus cursed himself. 

"If anyone is going to be marrying Evans it's going to be me," James said, confidently. 

At this, Severus quickly charged Sirius and punched him in the jaw, and then forcibly ripped his wand out of his grasp and threw it as far away as possible before taking his own back. He then quickly turned and stunned Peter with a well placed Stupefy, knocking him out cold. He pointed his wand at James next. 

"If you come near my girlfriend, Potter I swear it will not end well for you. Now I am not going to attack you because you aren't worth my time or the magical energy to do so. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind," Severus seethed. 

"We have a nice surprise planned for you at the end of the year, Snivellus. You will never see it coming. Better enjoy your relationship with Evans while it lasts. I am afraid she will not be yours by the time I finish with you and show her what you truly are. After all your sorry tosspot of a mother realized it. That's probably why she didn't want to be around you anymore," James said, with a smirk. 

'Big mistake, wanker,' Severus turned around and glared at him. If looks could kill James would have dropped dead that very second. Severus quickly fired a stunner at him that blew him back into a table, shattering it into pieces. Much to his surprise, however, James remained conscious. 

"Oh no, you aren't done until I say you're done, POTTER!" Severus raged and then put him in a body bind, along with Sirius and Peter who had just recovered from being stunned as well. 

"Now, listen real closely. I am going to tell you a few things before I release all three of you. I do not wish to harm any of you, however if you attack me I WILL defend myself. I get wanting to be with Lily, I mean she's a stunning girl, practically an angel with her damn near glow in the dark emerald green eyes and brilliant red hair that looks so beautiful in the sunlight it still takes my breath away, even after seeing her for six years." 

Severus got even closer yet. "Next time you see her, I want you to take in these details and I want you to do so good, because that is as close as you will ever get to her. She is not a trophy to be won, she is a brilliant young witch and a human being which is something you seem incapable of understanding. She needs someone who will love her, and will treat her like she is his world, which I do both of by the way. She does not need some idiot who only wants her because he thinks he is in love with her when he knows barely a thing about her. You don't love her, Potter. You think you do but you don't. 

Severus' face then turned grim. "Now, last thing. If you ever and I mean ever talk about my mother like that again I will hex you so badly that you will wish you were never born." 

Severus then released the three of them and walked away, feeling satisfied for now at what should have been a hard lesson to anyone, but he has no doubts that they will try attacking him again and that James will be arrogant enough to try for Lily again. 

"Don't worry, Prongs. His words are as hollow as they always are. We'll get him at the end of the year and by the time we're done Evans will realize you are the better choice," Peter said. 

"I know, Wormtail. I know. Greasy git will have no idea what hit him when we strike. He wants to lecture me about love pfft. Like he knows more than I do. Now, we need to figure out exactly where we're going to do this at. It needs to be in full view of the entire school, Evans especially. We have 7 months yet so we will be able to come up with something by the end of the year I am sure." 

"We will, Prongs. I have no doubt in my mind that we will," Sirius said as they began walking toward their next class. However they were approached by Cassandra on the way there. 

"Potter, Black and Pettigrew. We need to talk right now" she said, pointing her wand at them. All three nodded sheepishly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lily and Remus are absent from this chapter because the main goal was to have Severus learn to communicate with other people, especially Lily's closest friends. No worries though they will be back next chapter.


	18. The Unspeakable Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome back. I know it has been a while since I've updated and a lot of the content here was actually supposed to go in chapter 19 but I have been reworking all of my future chapter content as well as my update plans trying to figure out some kind of way that I can update regularly as in weekly at the slowest. I have also been calculating how many chapters will be in the story by the time I finish it with my current plans and if everything works out the way I want it to there will be 150 or so. If that does end up being the ending amount this chapter leaves us at exactly 12% of the way through. Anyways without further delay, here is the 18th chapter.

James, Sirius and Peter were, if being honest, shocked to be held at wandpoint by Cassandra. She is normally a quiet, shy girl. Very rarely does she ever get angry enough to pull her wand on someone. However, she does have her moments and it became quickly apparent to the three of them that this was one of those moments you absolutely do not want to cross her. 

"Now, let's begin with your so called 'plan' to win Lily over, Potter. It isn't going to happen, not on my watch," Cassandra stated disdainfully. 

James started to speak but Cassandra quickly cut him off "shut up, Potter, I am not finished yet. Do you really think humiliating Severus Snape to the degree that you are implying is going to end well for you? You have burned enough bridges within Gryffindor as it is and that is a fact I can confirm. Me, Alice, Mary, Frank, Lily, none of us care. Mind you, not all of Gryffindor are Severus supporters but us five personally will defend our friend if you attack him. Not to mention whatever else he decides to do to you in return. Also, if I were you I would leave Lily alone. Just a friendly reminder, well as friendly as scum like you deserves anyway."

James had a blank look on his face, Sirius was looking at Cassandra in a mix of anger and admiration and Peter looked as if his legs were about to give out from underneath him from fear and he also looked as if he were about to draw his wand. 

"Potter we all know you are too stupid and arrogant to change your ways. Black, I know what you are going through at home and don't pretend I don't notice when something like that is going on. That doesn't mean you have to follow this idiot, you can redeem yourself if you try. Remus sure did. As for you Peter, I wouldn't go for that wand if I was you. Wouldn't end up too pleasant for a blind idiot like yourself who always hides behind James Potter's shadow. Grow up already you incompetent, sniveling coward. And now that I've said what I have wanted to say I will be going. Oh and one last thing, Potter, I am not Severus. I will not back down because Lily tells me to do so. If you attack him, I WILL come after you and that is a promise." With that she turned around and walked off. 

 

Some time later, Severus and Remus and Lily were attending what was by far Severus' worst subject: Transfiguration. The lesson of the day was to attempt to transfigure a mouse into a spoon. Remus happened to notice the look on Severus' face and couldn't help but feel amused. 

"What's got your wand in a knot, Sev?" he asked. 

"I'll be surprised if I can transfigure this even half way. I have an incompetent wand for this particular branch of magic. Sure I can perform immensely powerful spells but this is my absolute worst," Severus said. 

"Come on, it can't be that bad, Sev. At least not as bad as my potions performance," Remus responded. 

At that moment, Remus gave a simple flick and transfigured his mouse in a single try. Lily quickly followed suit. Severus concentrated hard and after several moments flicked his wand and managed to succeed on his first try, much to his surprise as this is something that almost never happens. 

"Told you so," Remus said with a smirk. 

After the lesson had ended, Severus told Remus and Lily to go on without him as he wanted to write to Inias. 

"Is everything alright, Sev?" Lily asked, concerned. 

"Everything's fine angel I promise. I told him I would write to him days ago actually and I haven't yet so I want to get to that before I forget again," he told her. 

"Okay, come find me when you're done." With that she gave him a quick kiss and she and Remus walked off. 

Inias, 

I am sorry for not writing you when I promised. I have been under some pressure from a certain group of idiots and you know who I am talking about. But to update you on how I am doing, I am doing great. My classes are going well, I've been spending time with Remus and of course the love of my life, Lily. I spoke to her friends too, really spoke to them and they were actually very nice, even to me and I don't exactly have the best reputation here at Hogwarts. Things have been much better since I started giving people a chance. Anyways I hope you are well. Take care of yourself as always. I will write you again as soon as possible. 

-Severus

He sealed the letter and sent it off with one of the owls, making him wish he had his own. He turned to walk back but at that moment someone came in and locked the door behind him. Severus recognized the person as Mulciber and he immediately knew trouble was coming. He drew his wand but was immediately disarmed. 

"Do you really think I would let you get away with snapping my wand and nearly killing me without facing some sort of consequences, Snape?" Mulciber said, menacingly. 

"How'd you get a new wand Mulciber? I broke yours clean in two," Severus said, coldly.

"I happen to have a spare. Mind you it isn't the same as my original but it will help me knock you down a peg or two. For that matter, Crucio!" 

Severus went down immediately as the bright red beam of light struck him square in the chest, a sensation of a thousand red-hot blades slicing through his skin hit him and it took everything inside of him not to cry out. This was so much worse than anything he had ever endured in his life, even worse than the most savage of Tobias' beatings. Mulciber cast the spell again and Severus was completely on his back, the ceiling becoming a blur as the sensation struck him once again. However, Severus managed to spot his wand laying just inches from his right hand. Slowly but surely he was able to reach it and he pointed it at Mulciber, desperate to come up with a counter attack and fired off a stunner but due to the severe strain the Cruciatus was putting on his nerves, the spell missed completely and went right over Mulciber's right shoulder. Before he could cast another spell, Mulciber cast the Cruciatus curse for a third time, this time much more powerful than the previous two. When Mulciber released the spell, Severus was desperately clinging on to consciousness. However he had just enough strength left in him to raise his wand and make certain to aim it straight at Mulciber so it had no chance of missing. 

"Missionem Industria Caelestis," Severus managed to whisper out. Mulciber had a confused look on his face at hearing the strange wording but did not move out of the way, thinking it was a false incantation. However much to his shock and horror, he was struck in the abdomen by a blinding stream of white light and felt as if all the energy was forcibly ripped from his body. Mulciber then unlocked the door and took off as Severus succumbed to his injuries and lost consciousness. 

A few minutes later Lily looked over to Remus. "He should be here by now what's taking him so long." 

"Not sure, Lil. Do you think we should go check it out?"

However, before Lily could respond, a frantic Cassandra ran up to them, saying nearly incoherently that something bad has happened to Severus. At lightning speed both Lily and Remus went to go find him and when they finally did, Lily nearly vomited at what she saw. Severus was laying unconscious on the floor, his wand next to him and he was as pale as the snow. So pale she wondered if he was even still alive. Just then Cassandra came back with Madam Pomfrey. 

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked. 

"I don't know, I found him like this. I knew I put the fear of God into Potter, Black and Pettigrew but I didn't think they would do this," Cassandra said, nearly crying. 

"I don't think this was them, Cassie. I really don't. They may be arrogant bastards but they would never use Dark Magic and that is the only thing I can think of that would have done this to Severus," Remus said. 

"I need to find out what happened to him, before we can make any speculation," Madam Pomfrey said. With that she conjured a stretcher and brought Severus up to the Hospital Wing with Remus, Lily and Cassandra following closely behind. 

Once they arrived and Madam Pomfrey ran a check on Severus, even she was disgusted. She quickly turned to Cassandra. "Get Professor Dumbledore. Immediately." 

"What is wrong with him?" Lily asked, her eyes full of tears. 

"I will explain in a minute," Madam Pomfrey said with a grim look on her face. 

As soon as Dumbledore arrived with Cassandra, Madam Pomfrey told her, Lily and Remus to wait outside while she told the headmaster what had happened. A few minutes later Dumbledore stepped out. "I will tell you what happened but not here. Follow me to my office." 

Dumbledore did not say a word the entire way there and after they arrived he sat down looking at the three students in front of him. 

"There is no good way to say something like this I am afraid but since you three are close friends with Severus I will tell you what happened. He was tortured relentlessly with the use of the Cruciatus curse." 

Remus gasped and went wide eyed and put his arm around Lily, afraid she might collapse. Cassandra excused herself while she found a place to go vomit. "But he will be okay right? I mean he's Severus, he survives everything." Remus said, most likely trying to convince himself more than anyone else. 

"Madam Pomfrey is doing her best but we cannot say for sure at this time. You have to understand the Cruciatus is one of the most foul curses to exist. There is a reason it is an Unforgiveable," Dumbledore stated. "One minute of prolonged exposure will render the unfortunate victim incapacitated. Three minutes and he or she will be unable to hold a spoon for a week. Six minutes of exposure begins to damage the body's nervous system to the greatest degree and any length of time after that the greater the chance of the damage done becoming permanent. I know this is not what you would rather hear but I cannot lie to you considering how much he means to you all. Right now all we can do is be positive and hope for the best. I will notify Inias Prince as he is Severus' only family member. That is going to be messy I can tell you." Dumbledore said, before walking away. 

Lily and Remus went back to the Hospital Wing to see how Severus was doing. Madam Pomfrey was about to kick them out so she could have room to work. 

"I just want to spend five minutes with him," Lily practically begged. 

"No, Miss Evans I cannot allow that. This is an emergency situation and he is in no condition to have visitors right now," Madam Pomfrey stated, sternly. 

"Please, just five minutes. I want him to know I was here for him at least," Lily said. 

Madam Pomfrey gave in. "Okay but five minutes ONLY" she walked away. 

"I'll be outside, Lil. Get well soon, Sev," he said before leaving. 

Lily walked over to Severus and gently put her hand on his. At this moment she couldn't hold it in and broke down. "Sev. My dearest heart. Why couldn't it have been me? It hurts so much to see you here so vulnerable. I don't even know if you can hear me but I hope you can. I love you, Severus Tobias Snape with every fiber of my being. When I was younger before we started Hogwarts I would dream that I would marry you, but at the time that is all I thought it was. A dream." She wiped the tears from her cheeks. 

"these past few months you have shown me that can and will be reality. I have never felt so loved in my entire life. It's pretty ironic if you think about it. You thought I would never think of you in that way but since third year and possibly even before then I was thinking the exact same thing about you. I was terrified that you were becoming exactly like the people I suspect did this to you in the first place. But now I know you aren't. I don't just believe we will be together forever, I know that we will be. I cannot wait to marry you and bear your children, Sev. You are the only person I want that kind of future with. If I lose you then I don't think I could ever love anyone else. You are my entire world. Please wake up and get better soon, my amazing prince. Your sweet gorgeous angel needs you." With that she kissed his forehead and wiped the still free falling tears once more before walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Intense chapter for sure. Stay tuned because there is more on the way.


	19. All Actions Have Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome back to another chapter of What Can Be, What Will Be I have to say I am very excited to finally be writing this one. I made some edits to it, hopefully making it better than the original version. Also, there will be other pairings in this story, not just Sev and Lily. We also got Frank/Alice and two possibilities for Remus. For once, I am going to let you guys decide by voting. Remus/Cassandra or Remus/Mary. At chapter 25 I will make the final decision based on whichever pairing has the most votes.

The days after Derrick Mulciber's attack on Severus Snape went by rather quickly for everyone; except Severus himself of course. He has been in the Hospital Wing for 10 days now, having been told by Madam Pomfrey that no permanent damage had been done to him as far as she could detect, however she also informed him that the next few weeks would be very uncomfortable for him until the effects of the vile curse diminished completely. Unsurprisingly, Severus grew quite bored despite having daily visits from Remus and Lily, even Frank, Alice, Mary and Cassandra dropped by on occasion, however they were usually too busy to stick around and he thought he was the only one fanatical about getting the best marks. In the matter of Mulciber, however he had no solid proof as to his direct attack aside from his memory and he needed to talk with Dumbledore about that once he was released. He knew he also might be in trouble, given that spell he used as a last resort completely drained Mulciber's magical core to the point where it would not recharge on its own and would have to be done so by a specialist at St. Mungos. It could be considered a dark curse even though he had no idea it would actually work, however he knew this was not an excuse. A few moments later, Madam Pomfrey came over and quickly ran a diagnostic on him. 

"You are certainly improving. I will discharge you on the conditions that you return every morning and evening until I say otherwise and if you feel even for a second that something is wrong you return to me immediately," she said. 

"Understood," Severus responded, simply. 

Once he was told he could, leave he did not hesitate to do so. He had missed Halloween over the course of his stay and they were now in the month of November. He never thought he would miss walking around as much as he did right now. Of course with it being November, the temperatures had taken a turn from being chilly to bitterly cold, and while the cold has never seemed to bother him as much as others, he could not hang around outside nearly as much as he could when it was warmer. However he was broken out of his thoughts by the voice of none other than Albus Dumbledore. 

"Ah, Severus I was just looking for you. Would you follow me to my office?" he asked. 

Severus did as he asked and he was surprised that Inias was there once he arrived. Dumbledore explained to Severus that he had informed him what happened. 

"Once I heard someone used that disgusting curse on you, I was ready to take this whole place down. I used to be a healer and I have seen the kind of damage that curse can do to someone. I will help however I can to see the one responsible brought to justice," Inias said with an edge to his voice. 

"Settle down, Inias that is why we are here now, to find out exactly what happened. Now, Severus as you know there was nobody around to witness the attack and the wand was left near where you were found. It belonged to a first year Gryffindor who was in the common room at the time of the attack as I was informed. There is one thing we can do, however. If you can extract the memory of exactly what happened that night, we can go from there," Dumbledore said. 

Severus knew immediately what to do and he extracted the memory and gave it to Dumbledore, who put it into the pensieve for viewing. He also added in a few extra memories of past events such as Mulciber encouraging him to use the Imperius curse on Lily and his attempted rape on Mary Macondald. Both he and Inias watched every horrible atrocity this young man committed. A few minutes later both emerged, faces laced with fury. After calming himself down, Dumbledore looked at Severus. 

"Before I go and fetch Professor Slughorn and inform him of Derrick Mulciber's crimes, we need to talk about your actions. Were you aware of the lethality of the Blasting Curse and the damage you caused to the school with your use of it?" 

"Yes, I was sir. When I saw what he was doing, however, I didn't think, I just acted. I have always considered Mary a kind person she is very much like Lily. Nobody deserves that, much less her," Severus responded. 

"And the spell you used on Mulciber 10 days ago? Were you aware of its effects?" 

"I was, sir. I just wanted to stop him from causing me even further harm. I was not expecting it to work given my state at the time, however I accept that this is no excuse for the use of dark magic within Hogwarts and I will accept whatever punishment you give me, even if it's expulsion."

Dumbledore was shocked to hear Severus say that. "What an honorable thing to say, Severus. Normally, you would be suspended for a minimum of seven days, however given the circumstances, I will let you off with a warning so long as you don't use it again while at Hogwarts. Now, Inias will you take Severus here, I believe you two have a lot to catch up on. I need to deal with Mr. Mulciber."

"Not a problem, Albus. Come on, Severus I am sure we can find something to kill time with," Inias said, leading Severus out of the room. 

 

*Ten minutes later, with Mulciber.*

 

"Absolutely disgusting. Never, in all my years as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, have I seen something like this. Did you really think you could get away with it? Attempting to violate a young girl in explicable ways, encouraging someone to use the Imperius curse on their closest friend, and then using the Cruciatus curse on Severus, three times for a total of nine minutes. I am absolutely disgusted and I never thought I would say that to one of my own students," Dumbledore raged and Mulciber did not dare move a muscle. 

Slughorn however, was not any less angry. He also reprimanded Mulciber for his actions, calling him a disgrace to the house of Slytherin and to Hogwarts itself. 

Dumbledore continued on, "I have summoned an Auror from the Ministry of Magic who will be here soon to take you there and they will deal with you from that moment onward. This is a matter that goes beyond me, however you will be expelled from Hogwarts school, effective immediately. Before you say it, when it concerns a matter of the use of dark magic, especially an Unforgiveable, yes I can expel you without a majority vote of the Board of Governors. Now you are staying right here until the Auror arrives." 

A few minutes later, the Auror arrived. He was a tall man with long brown hair and a black overcoat. He immediately walked over to Mulciber and bound him with magic suppression bindings. "Derrick Mulciber you are under arrest for the use of an Unforgiveable, conspiracy to use an Unforgiveable, attempted sexual assault of a young girl and conspiracy to commit sexual assault against another. Once you arrive at the Ministry, you will be placed in a warded cell until your trial which will take place on the 9th of January,"

The Auror then turned to Dumbledore. "Before I leave, I would like those memories you told me about. They will be used as evidence against young Mr. Mulciber here. Also you will need to inform Mr. Snape and Miss Macdonald that they may need to testify. We will inform you about whether this is needed or not shortly before the trial." Dumbledore nodded and the Auror left with one hand firmly on Mulciber's arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's chapter 19. It is a bit short, but I always try to keep the wordcount between 1.3 and 1.5k at the lowest. Also I will have pairings for Sirius when we got to his redemption arc which sadly won't be for a while. I love all of you and I will see you again at the next update, and don't forget to post your votes in the comments!


	20. Things Aren't Always so Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, yeah I'm not dead. Unfortunately, my computer finally died on me a while back so I had no way to post this chapter and getting a new computer isn't cheap. Nevertheless here's chapter 20 and more is on the way. Also I decided that this story will not be one giant story but rather a multi-part series with each year being one book. Also I am sure you guys will be glad to hear this but now that I have a new computer that doesn't cause aneurysm inducing frustration, I will be updating every Friday at 8:00 PM EST (Eastern Standard Time).

After Severus left with Inias shortly before Mulciber's arrest, the two walked to the Astronomy tower to enjoy what remained of the afternoon, despite the cold weather. 

"It has been a long time since I've been here. 33 years in fact." Inias said. 

"It certainly is nice. It would be better without Potter and his cronies though. I know they are planning something as they always are, but I just don't know what," Severus responded.

"I dealt with a lot of those types of idiots in my time too, Severus. I usually just ignored them, but when they got too irritating a nice stinging hex to the groin was enough to send a message. Or a localized freezing charm designed to freeze...specifics in solid ice. One of Eileen's favorite inventions as a matter of fact, just aim your wand at the area and use the incantation 'Conglacier'," Inias added with a smirk.

Severus smiled, a rare occasion, at what Inias was implying. He had to give it to his mother, even he had never thought of something like that. Although he doubted this would be enough to put the idiot in his place, freezing his bits in solid ice sounded like a wonderful idea. He doesn't call himself the son of a Prince for nothing after all. One thing was for certain: if James Potter decided to screw with him again, he would make sure the troll-brained moron would not walk away without an equal level of humiliation and he would do the same to his cronies if the occasion called for it. That would for sure be a huge blow to Sirius Black's ego, since he walks around acting like every witch should immediately fall to his feet. 

After it was time for curfew, Severus returned to his common room to unfortunately be confronted by Avery, Rosier and two others, one of whom he only knew as Wilkes. 

"So how are you feeling, Snape? Not too frisky right about now given the lesson our friend Derrick gave you," Avery sneered.

"I don't know, troll-face, how's his magical core doing? Probably 'not too frisky' as you put it. That warding at the Ministry cell he earned himself a place in must be hard on him with all his magical energy zapped in a single move. I cannot wait to see how he handles the Demons of Azkaban in his condition. It will be a beautiful sight," Severus taunted in response.

"You little!" Avery drew his wand and the others followed suit. 

"Oh, please." Severus punched Avery in the jaw, knocking him unconscious and stunned the others quickly after. "Shut up," he said before walking up to his dormitory and then he warded his bed so the other couldn't approach it before falling into a well deserved sleep. 

 

Meanwhile the Gryffindor common room was not quite as eventful. Lily, Cassandra, Mary, Remus, Frank and Alice were all sitting together, discussing their day when the subject of Severus suddenly came up. 

"So, how is Severus doing, Lily?" Cassandra asked. 

"He's doing good, all things considered. Mary will be relieved that vile Mulciber is never coming back here. I just hope he does recover from what happened, I mean you heard what Dumbledore said," Lily responded, worriedly. 

"Lil, he survives everything, you of all people know that as do I. I don't know much about his past because he refuses to tell me and I don't want to piss him off by pressuring him, but I can tell he has been through a lot. He made it through what James and Sirius did to him..." he trailed off. 

Mary looked on in confusion as did Frank and Alice but Cassandra had an almost...knowing look in her eyes. 

"So, Frank, Alice, when are you two going to get together. I mean, you couldn't be more obvious," Mary said. 

Alice blushed in embarrassment and Frank just looked at her. "Look, I don't have time for that right now. I need to make sure I know what I am looking at exactly for my NEWTs next year. Ask me then and I'll be able to give a better answer," he said. 

Cassandra turned to Lily and went to ask her something when Lily put her hand up to stop her. "I know what you are going to ask me, Cassandra and for the 200th time, no, me and Sev have not done that. I promised my parents I wouldn't until I was of age and I intend to stick with that, so get your dirty mind out of the gutter already," she said, simply. 

"Whatever you say, Lily. Sooner or later you are going to give in whether you admit it or not," Cassandra said with a wink. 

Lily just shook her head and looked down as if the floor had suddenly become very interesting. 

"Well, I am going to head up to bed and get an early night so if you heathens want to stay down here doing whatever go right on ahead, just don't be disturbing me," Frank said before getting up and walking away. 

"I am right behind you, good night Remus, Lily and Cassandra" Mary said. 

Cassandra soon too got up and followed but not before looking back at Remus with a look that Lily recognized immediately, having wore it for years whenever she looked at Severus and she could have sworn she saw Mary look at Remus like that once or twice as well. Unfortunately the entire thing went unnoticed by Remus and he just continued to look straight ahead. 

"Are you alright, Remus?" Lily asked. 

"No, I'm not actually, Lily. I mean I knew what that foul curse could do to people, but seeing it used on someone I consider a close friend? I am having trouble getting over that," Remus responded. 

"Believe it or not, I am too Remus. I know he's strong and I keep telling myself that but I am not sure I actually believe it. I mean, he's the love of my life and I never feel more loved than when I am with him. When I was in the hospital wing with him after it happened, I wished it had been me instead of him so I wouldn't have to see him lying there so broken and vulnerable," Lily said, tears beginning to form in her eyes but she brushed them away. 

"At least you have someone who loves you unconditionally. I probably never will have that. I feel like I am a disappointment to my mother and my father...well with his prejudice against werewolves, I'm an abomination in his eyes. I know how hard he tries to hide it but I know exactly how he feels toward me. People would hate and fear me if they knew what I am, they could never even get close to me let alone actually love me," Remus said, sadly. 

Lily took his hand in hers. "Remus, that isn't true. I admit you have it harder than most but eventually you will find someone who will love you for the amazing person. Sev has been a good friend to you since you and him actually talked, I am also here for you. Potter, Black and Pettigrew may not have been the best of company but they didn't hate and fear you either. And as for you finding someone, I know of at least two specific people that would love to have your attention. Don't think you aren't worth it, Remus, because you are. Once you figure it out you will understand that not all is as bad as it may seem, it will get better." 

Lily then got up and went to bed, leaving Remus to think to himself. Was Lily right? Is there someone here who would actually love him for who he was and not fear him because of what he was? He was unsure of the accuracy behind Lily's words, but he knew that she would never lie to him and that she truly believes he is worth it. He also chuckled to himself, knowing that if Severus was here, he would give him a good whack on the side of the head for being an idiot by assuming he isn't worthy of love. His final thought of the night was that he would put work into his self confidence and not let his unfortunate condition bring him down any longer and he would figure out who exactly Lily was talking about and hope for the best rather than expect the worst for a change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed chapter 20! Remember to leave your votes in the comments on which pairing you want the choices are Remus/Mary and Remus/Cassandra. Our current results are:
> 
> Remus/Cassandra: 1  
> Remus/Mary: 0


	21. Harsh Arguments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome back to another chapter of this story I very much enjoy writing. With chapter 21 written we are now approximately 65% of the way through book 1 of the series. Without further delay I hope you enjoy :)

The past few weeks have been, for lack of a better word, chaotic. The cold weather has caused numerous illnesses to spread throughout the castle and everyone was eagerly awaiting the holidays, which were only two and a half weeks away. Even Severus was eager for the first term to be done and he was never in too much of a hurry to be going to the hell hole he had once been forced to call home. As much as he wanted to go spend the holiday with Inias, he decided he would be going home with Lily instead. The two rarely got to spend any real time together these days because she was often too busy studying for OWLs which Severus didn't really understand because they were still just over six months away. She is free to make her own decisions of course, he just misses their moments they always share with one another. He spends as much time as he can with Remus, trying to help him overcome his depression, but that is always easier said than done. However, minimal progress is progress regardless. Unfortunately, a very much unwelcome voice called over to him as he was deep in thought

"OI Snivellus," James called out, surrounded by his other two goons. 

"What do you want, Potter? If you're here to attack me again, you know how that turned out last time. I wouldn't try it if I were you," Severus shot back, nastily. 

"No way are we allowing you to take Evans to Hogsmeade next week, I am going to be the one to do that, once I deal with you of course," 

"Are you still on about her, Potter? She chose me, now get over it. I have told you already, you do not love her, you are only attracted to her physically. Do you even know the first thing about her? I sincerely doubt it. Besides, Hogsmeade? I'm not even interested because there's nothing even remotely good there anyway besides a sorry excuse for a joke shop and vomit inducing candy,"

"I don't understand what Evans sees in you anyway, Snivellus. You're greasy and foul and you don't even know how to wash your hair. You probably haven't even seen a galleon in your life. You couldn't ever support her,"

"Lily is perfectly capable of supporting herself, you half-brained moron. Besides, not all of us grew up spoiled rotten like you did. You were probably dropped on your head a great deal as a baby and your refusal to accept the fact that me and Lily are together once and for all is proof of that. Now, as I said, if I find out you bothered Lily while she goes to Hogsmeade just because I am not there, I will cast a freezing charm on you so cold that your dick falls off. Now get out of my face," 

Just as Severus turned to walk away, James whipped out his wand and shouted "Levicorupus!" Severus dodged it, but smirked when he saw McGonagall turning the corner.

"Potter and Black, what is the meaning of this!" she shouted, furiously. 

"Nothing," James said, hastily trying to put his wand away. 

"That's 10 points each from Gryffindor for attacking another student unprovoked and be grateful it isn't more now move along," McGonagall said before walking away. 

 

That night after classes ended, James, Sirius and Peter walked back to Gryffindor tower which was only occupied by a very angry Cassandra and an upset Mary.

"You morons lost us 30 more points, because you tried to attack Severus yet again. Haven't you done enough damage this year Potter?!" Cassandra raged. 

"You are the most self-centered person I have ever met. Attacking Lily's boyfriend just because you are so blind as to be unable to see how happy she is with him. And you two," she gestured to Sirius and Peter "following him around like lost puppies, practically kissing the ground this foul piece of garbage walks on. No wonder Remus abandoned you. You are all pieces of shit to be scraped off his shoes. He is so much better than you will ever be," she continued. 

"Cassie maybe we shouldn't do this right now," Mary offered.

"No, Mary I am not done yet. These three have done so much damage to our house this year. First with the incident in potions, then attacking Severus in the Lost Corridor and now attacking him and getting caught, losing us even more points. I am downright tired of it. Their treatment of Remus is unfair too, he always stuck by them no matter what hey did until this year when they finally took it too far. Then with the incident at the Whomping Willow, yes I know about that. You three should be in prison, in fact the only reason you aren't is because I know you three kiss Dumbledore's ass left and right, he thinks you are saints. Severus was right, you know. You do not love Lily because if you did you would let her go and hope she is happy. I would do the same if the one I love is interested in someone else. It would hurt a lot but I would get over it. I sure wouldn't go around attacking them at every chance I get that's for sure," Cassandra finished, her face redder than a tomato from her anger. 

"Cassandra, you need to calm down. These three morons aren't worth us getting into any more trouble. They want to be idiots, let them. Whatever you say won't register in their liquid brains anyway," Mary said. 

"I am sorry for losing us points, I wasn't expecting us to get caught," Sirius said. 

"Get the hell away from me Black! You are just as disgusting and vile as he is. And Pettigrew, grow a dick and follow your own path for once and stop hiding behind these two like the coward you are," Cassandra raged once more. 

The three quickly hurried away after that. It took Cassandra all her strength not to burst out laughing at their scared expressions. Mary just shook her head and gave Cassandra a soft punch on the shoulder. "You really terrify them, you know that?" she joked.

"Good," Cassandra smiled. 

"So who was it that you said you love? I heard the sincerity in your voice when you said that. There is someone you have been keeping from me," Mary gave a wink at that. 

"I'm not sure I love him but I do like him very much and we aren't even together. I doubt he even notices me, but it's Remus." 

Mary's smile vanished. "I like Remus too Cassie," 

"Oh...well this is...strange"

"Yeah it is, but he's a very complicated person. I don't think he notices me either. I overheard him and Lily talking in the common room one night, telling him there is someone that would love to have his attention. I don't know if she was referring to you or to me or to both of us, but know this Cassie, no matter what happens, you will always be my sister in all but blood. You were always there for me when nobody else was and I won't give up what we have over one of us dating someone the other likes as well." Mary said, sternly. 

"I feel the same way, Mary. When he does finally open his eyes, if it's not for me, then I will accept it. Like I said, I will be hurt but I will accept it. I'm not Potter and I won't betray you and suddenly start attacking you at every corner like an immature child throwing a tantrum. You are my sister too, Mary and I would not give that up for anything either", Cassandra gave Mary a hug to confirm that she means every word. 

After realizing the time the two decided they should head off to sleep. Cassandra stayed awake for a little bit longer though, being glad that she and Mary talked about the issue that she was so terrified would explode in her face. She was also thinking about Remus. She knows about him being a werewolf of course, she had known since first year. Despite what some people believe she isn't an idiot and knew what it meant when he was disappearing every full moon and came back looking like the sickest person on Earth. This has never bothered her in the slightest as she was always taught growing up that prejudice is wrong and she tries to avoid it whenever she can. She just hopes that Mary knows about Remus too if he does choose her instead because she isn't sure that he would have the confidence to tell Mary on his own and it isn't her secret to tell. With these thoughts in mind she finally allowed herself to fall asleep thinking of Remus and how much she loves his every feature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom! Finally a confession from the two about liking Remus, and they decided to talk about it to each other. Remember to leave your votes in the comments for the pairing the deadline is chapter 25 after that I will make the final decision based on which pairing has the most votes. 
> 
> Remus/Mary: 4  
> Remus/Cassandra: 2


	22. Damon Jones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I'm back. Don't worry I didn't forget about you all I have just had a busy few weeks. I to babysit my neighbor's dog while they were on vacation and I didn't have internet access and it was kind of a last minute decision thing so I couldn't notify you guys as to what was going on and then last week I had finals to prepare for, for the end of my summer semester in college so I haven't been able to sit down and write any new chapters. I'll try to post two to three chapters this week to make up for the ones I have missed the past couple weeks. We will also see the introduction of a new character in this chapter as evidenced by its title. Hope you enjoy

The following morning saw to the arrival of a raging snowstorm and that the windows were covered in thick layers of snow and ice. It was also so cold that some of the students were wearing their jackets inside, a fairly common occurrence in the winter. Good news for Severus is that the cold air seems to have James Potter and his cronies settled down as they have yet to make one nasty remark to him or confront him at all which almost never happens. He was also eagerly awaiting the holiday now more than ever with it being right around the corner and having a reason to go want to go home. He could not wait to spend time with the love of his life away from Hogwarts and of course her parents whom he had loved like they were his own. Of course, Petunia would be as irritating as ever, but the company of those three will be absolutely worth it. He did, however, feel bad for Remus because he would be unable to join him and they did nearly everything together since they became friends when Lily wasn't around. He had to admit that this was probably one of the worst times for them to be in a relationship because fifth year is by far the most difficult and the most time consuming but he wouldn't trade it for the world nor would he ever regret his decision in kissing her on the train at the beginning of the year. Every second he gets to spend with her is so sacred to him, even if their time is severely limited and besides it's only one year, they will have many more to come and he would make sure of that no matter what happens, especially after hearing what she had said to him in the hospital wing after his excruciating encounter with Mulciber some time ago. Despite hearing her every word, he was unable to do anything to respond in any way and he honestly has not had any clue what to say in return after he got out because for the first time in his life, he was mind blown at just how deep her feelings for him really were. He had always felt that way about her, but with his life being as bad as it was for so long, declarations of love were unnatural to him in their own way and probably would be for a long time, but a confession as deep and detailed as hers was, he could not even find the words to describe the warmth it brought to his heart. It was truly an amazing feeling. He began working a plan in his mind to spend the day with her, just the two of them before they leave for the holidays.

Meanwhile with Lily...

Lily was in a state of pure bliss. She heard what happened between the three morons and Cassandra and Mary the following morning and was glad that James was going to leave her alone at least for a little bit. He hadn't even dared a glance in her direction this morning when he walked by. Of course, she knew this wouldn't last and before long he would be back to attacking Severus in an attempt to woo her, which just showed his lack of intelligence overall. If one was attempting to win the affections of another they wouldn't go around attacking their closest friend at every corner especially if they are now in a relationship with said friend. Her heart became heavy thinking of Severus and just how much she missed him. She knows that he is just trying to focus on passing his OWLs with a perfect score because he's...well Severus. As she left the common room to her surprise he was waiting right outside the door for her. She immediately smiled and jumped into his arms. 

"This is certainly unexpected," she said, kissing him. 

"I just wanted to see you. I know we haven't spent much time together in a while and I apologize for that," Severus responded, holding her tight. 

"It's okay, Sev. While it does limit our time, I understand your need to do well," she said as they began to walk slowly, holding hands. 

"I do have a plan for that little issue though. Before we leave for the holidays we could spend the day together, just you and me."

"Well what about Remus? He always accompanies us,"

"I am pretty sure he can last one day without us. Besides, he's got Mary and Cassie to watch out for him after all," he chuckled at her surprised expression. "What? Don't think I haven't noticed the looks they give him. He is the one who is oblivious to it all or is at least pretending to be," 

"He definitely does need to work on his confidence a bit. He believes nobody would ever love and accept him because of the way he is and it's honestly pretty sad to see him depressed all the time, I just wish I knew how to help him."

"I don't think we can, Lily, not really because we don't truly understand what he is going through. We just need to be there to support him as much as we can and let him know that we do care about him. However, we all know that I am the poster boy for emotional support," he added sarcastically. 

"You help a lot more than you think, Sev. He looks up to you much like he used to look up to Potter and his idiot followers before he realized how wrong they were in their ways. You always know how to make me feel happy and loved even though we haven't been spending a lot of time together. You just need to get better at understanding that not everyone is like your father," she responded. 

"I suppose you're right, Lily. Just after all these years of what I had to endure I was forced to develop this solid shell and I still have a hard time letting people through it and I am not sure if it will always be like that or not, but I hope I can change that in the future." 

However, at this moment they arrived at the Great Hall and Severus went over to his table and Lily to hers. Severus, however, was met with something interesting. A boy whose name he could not place sat down next to him. 

"Hey, Severus, pleasure to formally meet you. I'm Damon Jones. Don't worry, I'm not a pure blood elitist. I actually admire your relationship with Lily, it shows evidence that our house is not doomed to evil like people say. She's a muggleborn sure but she is also extremely pretty and a very kind soul, something you deserve in your life."

"Well, nice to meet you too, Damon. I agree, the prejudice against our house gets rather irritating. They accuse us of being evil because of a few elitist pricks who want to be prejudiced against muggleborns when they don't realize that prejudice is still prejudice regardless of what it is against, and don't go getting any ideas, Lily is my girlfriend you know," Severus responded a little defensively. The person who normally says stuff like that about Lily's appearance aside from him and Remus attacks him at every corner after all.

"I didn't mean it like that, Severus. I don't even really know her and while I think she would make a great friend I am not interested in her in that way. I am interested in someone else entirely as a matter of fact. Even if I was interested in Lily, I'm not Potter. I have respect for people's relationships, I have no desire to break people up who are obviously deeply in love with one another. Personally, I want to punch that self-righteous narcissistic piece of filth in the nose for how he behaves toward you and Lily. It's repulsive and vile and he could not possibly make his intentions any more obvious. He's not after her for her heart he's only after her for a good lay, he would toss her to the side the minute she gave him what he wanted and those two jackasses who follow him blindly and encourage his behavior aren't any better. Remus deserves better friends," Damon said, angrily. 

Severus had to laugh at that. "I'm glad me, Lily and her friends aren't the only ones who view him as well as his pack of dogs that way. The whole school seems to worship him as some kind of saint," 

"Not as much as you think, Severus. A lot of the people I know despise them. Despite how it looks, the majority of the school looks down upon bullies, especially ones who actively seek out and target someone just because of who they are romantically involved with and I am the ringleader of those who cannot stand Potter, Black and Pettigrew aside from you of course," he added with a chuckle. 

Severus and Damon continued their breakfast conversing in casual conversation. He could see a friendship beginning to form already. He could tell that Damon was a kind person and would never wish ill will on anybody unless they are truly deserving of it. He and Lily stole loving glances at one another whenever they could, but from where he was sitting, it was difficult for him to get a clear line of sight of her. She was obviously curious as to what he and the other Slytherin were talking about. She recognized him as the Slytherin boy that helped her in the hall one day when her bag decided to rip and spill everything she had in it all over the floor but she never caught his name. She hoped that whoever he was he and Severus could become good friends because she knows he could use them. Despite what he tries to make her and most likely himself believes, he longs for friendships and contact outside of her and Remus. He and the other boy seemed to be friendly with each other as they talked so only time will tell. At that moment however the clock tolled signalling it was time for the day's classes to begin. Everyone got up to begin their day, waiting to see what events today's journey would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave your votes in the comments, our current results are 
> 
> Remus/Mary: 8  
> Remus/Cassandra: 4


	23. The Eve of Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moment we've all been waiting for! This is a Severus and Lily centric chapter. I've been waiting to do this for a while now and I had a tough time figuring out how to start it but nevertheless I hope you enjoy.

The one moment everyone had been waiting for had arrived. The holidays were finally upon them. Lily was eager to see her family for the first time in months and Severus was also eager to see those he loves as if they were his own parents and of course spend time with the one who holds his heart. Speaking of her, she was now heading toward him. 

"I brought my coat like you asked," she said. 

"Great," he smiled. He then took her hand and led them outside to the now frozen lake. 

"I don't quite understand this, Sev. Why here? The lake is frozen over there's really nothing to admire out here," Lily said, confused. 

"It's not about that, Lily. I know we haven't spent a lot of time together so far this year and right now I just want to spend the day with you before we go home. I have missed you terribly," Severus responded. 

"I have missed you too, Sev. Let's enjoy it then while it lasts," and with that she playfully tackled him to the ground. 

"Whoa, Lil this snow is cold you know," 

"Oh come on you big baby it's not going to kill you. Besides we used to play in the snow all the time before Hogwarts you never had anything to say about it then," 

"Yeah, I guess," then without warning he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. She yelped in surprise at the sudden gesture and then looked up into his eyes. 

"Sev..." she started but he silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Shh. Enjoy the moment my angel," he said quietly and then he kissed her. 

"I love you, Lily. So much." 

"I love you too, Sev," she said and then she snuggled even closer to him. Coldness of the snow beneath them forgotten to them both, he continued to hold her and she certainly wasn't objecting. She always loved being in his arms. How she could have gone so long without this she will never know. She smiled as he began to comb his fingers through her soft, auburn curls. 

"Are you looking forward to going home, Sev?" she asked, softly. 

"For the first time in my life I actually am. I have nothing to regret going home to for once, except Petunia of course. I am definitely not looking forward to being called a freak for the next two weeks," 

"Ugh, don't remind me. How she could look at me, her own sister like that I will never know. I stopped letting it get to me years ago though, once I realized that she will never change her views. It irritates my parents to no end that we don't get along like we used to when we were little before magic was a thing in my life," 

"I don't understand either, Lil. If I were in her shoes I'd be proud to have a sister who is a witch, especially one of your talent. You were very much in control of your magic, I saw that the day we officially met in the park. I honestly envied your level of control," 

"It wasn't always like that, Sev. The first couple weeks after I started showing signs of magic I had to work hard to get it under control. Although the first time it happened, I made a flower come to life. It was actually very beautiful. My parents had no idea what was truly going on but they knew I was special from that moment on." 

Severus shifted uncomfortably. This was a sensitive topic for him so they never talked about it. "I remember the first time I used magic accidentally. It was cold and there was no heat. I accidentally set a basket of laundry on fire trying to create heat. Why Mother never used warming charms I will never know, but it would have been far less obvious than a pile of clothes suddenly going up in flames and with the man my so called Father was, well you can imagine how that ended." 

"Sev, you know you don't have to worry about him anymore. He was just one person. You have me and my parents. I love you and my parents love you. As long as we're around you will never be alone, I promise you that."

"I know, Lil and I promise the same thing to you. I wanted to tell you that day I was in the Hospital wing after Mulciber attacked me, I heard every word you said. I thought I was dreaming at the time and I was unable to respond in any way, but I heard you. I didn't think I was worthy of that kind of love for the longest time in my life because I was always told that I wasn't." 

"Anyone who says that could not be more wrong. Whatever your father said, what Potter and his band of morons say, it doesn't matter because I love you and nothing is going to change that. If Potter can't accept that it's his problem, not mine and most certainly not yours. Personally I would rather be with someone who wants my heart, not my body and he couldn't make it any more obvious which one he wants." 

Severus, realizing she was right, nodded his head. "Thank you, Lily. I really needed that." 

"It's no problem, Sev, I'm your girlfriend and I will always be here for you no matter what," she then kissed him deeply and lovingly to reassure him and he happily reciprocated. 

"I wonder what Remus is doing. He said he was going to Hogsmeade, but never gave any details," Severus said

"I don't really know either. I wish he could come home with us so he doesn't have to feel so lonely over the holidays because nobody should feel that way during this time of the year," Lily responded. 

"We can always write to him, Lil. It won't be like we're cutting off contact with him completely." 

"I guess you're right."

"Admit it, Lil, I'm always right," she chuckled at that. "Yes you are, Sev," she responded.

The two continued to just chat about small, random things as he held her close to him and combed his fingers through her soft, auburn curls. He could not imagine being any happier than when she was in his arms. He loved her with everything he had and whenever he doubts whether this is enough, she reassures him that it's more than enough. He sighed contently and he kissed the top of her head the way in which he knew she loved. Oh yes, they were definitely going to have a happy future together, how could two people so deeply in love with one another have any different kind of ending? It will always be him and her, Severus and Lily always and forever.


	24. The Winter Holidays Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys so here's chapter 24. This was a massive chapter, much longer than I initially planned and I apologize for it being late but I just could not get it done in time, there was so much to sift through and revise. Unfortunately I also bring bad news. At the end of the month my next semester for college starts and I will be taking three classes instead of two so my previous goal of one update a week will most likely no longer be possible. I am not going to promise a time table either because I probably will not be able to stick to it but I will get chapters written and posted as often as I can. I will try not to leave you guys hanging too long. Chapter number has also been extended from 32 to 34 chapters. Enjoy :)

The train ride home the next day was somewhere in between boring and exciting for Severus, Lily and Remus who all shared the same compartment. Remus was currently enjoying what little time he would have with his only two friends for the next couple of weeks and he honestly could not think of a better way to spend this time either. He was finally beginning to believe what Lily had said to him some time back, that he is so much better than he gives himself credit for. Severus noticed his faraway look and snapped his fingers to get his attention. 

"Hey, Remus, you alright?" Severus said, once Remus turned to look at him. 

"Yeah, Sev, I'm fine. I am just thinking about how I will spend my holiday and a conversation me and Lily had in the common room some time back," Remus responded. 

"Well if I know my Lily, I am sure she would have reassured you that you are worth more than what many people are trying to make you believe and I agree. You shouldn't let what you are define who you are," Severus added that last bit quietly. 

"But what if it never changes, Sev? What if I am always going to be living like this, feared by the rest of the world?" Remus asked, sadly. 

Severus looked down at Lily, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder some time ago. He looked down at their still joined hands and kissed her on the forehead as if he were making a point and then he turned to look at Remus with a sincere but gentle expression on his face. 

"Remus, I am not going to say your life will always be easy because you and I both know that I would be lying were I to say that. But, believe me when I say things will get better in the future and do you want to know why? Because once the storm out there in the world that many remain oblivious to blows over I will do everything I can to make your life and the lives of those like you better," he began as Remus nodded with a surprised look on his face. 

"Don't take this the wrong way Remus, but I noticed the way you look at Lily and me whenever we're together. You wish you had a relationship like ours. I promise you that you will maybe even sooner than you think. I know of at least two very specific people who would love to be on your arm. I am not going to tell you who they are because it isn't my place to do so, but if you think long and hard you will be able to figure it out," he finished, leaving Remus with an even more puzzled expression. This was the second time someone said that to him in almost the exact same words. 

"D-do you really believe that?" Remus asked, hesitantly.

"I don't need to just believe it because I already know it. I have not had an easy life either, in fact at Hogwarts it is still hell because of three very specific people and that is only part of my entire life story, most of which has been...you guessed it, hell. But I pulled myself to my feet and I got through it and I don't think I could have done so without the most beautiful girl I ever laid my eyes on who is the very light of my life. You will find that too Remus, you will. I promise you," Severus said, as sincere as he can possibly be. 

Remus nodded, realizing the extent of the faith his friends had in him. He was now determined to make something of himself. He always knew Severus' life wasn't easy, in fact he had told James and Sirius to lay off him several times but never pressed it any further because he didn't want to lose his only friends at the time. He now sees how wrong he was of course, but if Severus could overcome his issues and find his very own reason to be happy than Remus could too and he would see to that himself. 

"Thank you, Sev. You and Lily have both really helped a lot. I am not saying I will be happy overnight but I will most certainly try," 

"And that is all we ask, Remus. Like I said before, you need to find your own feet but we will of course be there for you every step of the way," Remus nodded in understanding. 

 

About an hour later they arrived at King's Cross, which was flooded with parents and children greeting one another happily as they reunited for the holidays. Severus turned to Remus. 

"You take care of yourself, Remus. Don't forget the things I said," Severus said. 

"I won't, Sev. And I can't say it enough, thank you," Remus responded. 

"We will see you after the holidays Remus. We will write to you as often as we can," Lily said as she came over and gave him a hug. 

"I would very much appreciate that. I am sorry guys but I really need to get going. Catch up with you later," Remus said before departing. 

Severus took Lily's hand in hers and they went to find her parents but instead only found Violet. Lily ran up and hugged her mother happily and then looked around for her father. 

"Where's Dad?" she asked, curious as to why he wasn't there. 

"Oh he couldn't make it, said he had some business to take care of. It probably has something to do with that new boy Petunia has been talking to as of late. I really don't like him at all and neither does your father. I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to play mediator," Violet added with an almost disgusted look on her face, something that greatly shocked Severus. Disgust was a look you simply never saw on the face of Violet Evans. The only time Severus could ever recall this in fact was when he told the story of his father. Whoever this boy was he must have done something major to get on her bad side and that was not easy to do. 

As they got into the car to drive home, Severus could not help but ask. "Will he be home at all today then?" 

"Afraid he nor Petunia will return until tomorrow. It will just be us three today," she responded.

"Also, I hope you don't mind me asking but why did you look like you had just seen something foul when you mentioned this boy Petunia was talking to? He can't be all that bad can he?" Severus asked, curiously. 

"Oh trust me, Severus yes he is. He's arrogant, snobbish, he thinks the world owes him everything without him having to do a single thing to repay it, he's got an ego the size of the moon, and to top it all off, he says foul things about you Lily, things beyond imaginable," she looked at Lily through the rear view mirror. "As if it's totally okay with me having an outsider talk about my daughter like that. The things he says I do not wish to repeat for I fear it will only make me angrier," 

"Well, I can't be helped but be reminded of a certain someone I am forced to spend 3/4 of a year with," Severus muttered, but everyone heard it. 

"Are you talking about that James person who always picks on you and won't ever leave Lily alone?" Violet asked, curiously. 

"Yes, exactly. He sounds like the muggle version of that toerag James Potter. Now, he doesn't say foul things about me, but everything else is definitely him," Lily cut in before Severus could respond, although she said exactly what was on his mind. 

"Petunia is probably going to invite him over for Christmas. I want to say no, it isn't happening but at the same time I don't want to upset her. I am honestly more conflicted now than I was when we found out you were magical and I had no idea what to do. I have no idea how I will be able to tolerate his presence for that long," Violet said, grimly. 

"Just try not to think about it, Violet because it's still a few days away. Just enjoy the time you have with me, Lily and John before you endure the mental torture. It always seems to work for me before I go back to Hogwarts at the end of summer break where I will have to put up with that arrogant prick swooning over Lily and mercilessly attacking me trying to win her over," Severus supplied. 

"That is exactly what I am going to do. Thinking about it only makes it worse," she responded. 

 

At last they finally arrived at home and as Violet promised, John and Petunia were nowhere to be found. Lily immediately went over to Severus and told him to come with her. 

"Come on, Sev let's go to our spot. It will be just like old times when we were little," Lily practically begged. 

"Okay, let me get my coat since you insist on it even though we just spent an entire day in the snow yesterday," Severus responded in a joking manner.

"Who says we can't enjoy it here too. That was at Hogwarts, Sev, this is at home. Two totally different places and this one is much more beautiful," she said. 

"Alright then I'll meet you down here," and he immediately went to grab his coat and Lily did the same. A few minutes later they met in the living room in full winter clothing and Violet called to them.

"Severus, could you give me and Lily a few minutes alone?" she asked, kindly. 

"No problem. I'll wait for you outside, Lily," and with that he went out the door. 

"What's going on, Mom?" Lily asked, curiously. 

"Lily, I want you to understand that while I understand that you two are together and are very much in love, I don't want you guys doing anything inappropriate until you are of age. I am trusting you not to do so, but I understand sometimes temptations get the best of us and I am just asking that you refrain until then," Violet said. 

"I understand, Mom and while I will admit I have been tempted once or twice, I promised you that I would wait and I will stick by it no matter what. Severus understands, in fact he actually agrees with me that I should honor the promise I made to you," 

"He has always been very kind and understanding, especially to you. One of the reasons I hoped you two would get together some day once you finally stopped dancing around your feelings for each other and don't think I didn't notice the looks you gave him for years, I was the exact same way when me and your father met," 

"He was actually the one who initiated it. I was very surprised actually. I had been dropping hints for the longest time that I wanted to be with him as more than just a friend and then he just kissed me on the train on our way back to Hogwarts. With great effort, mind you, given his very shy nature but I was over the moon, I could not stop thinking about how much I wanted this, how long I had dreamed of it." 

"You two are perfect for each other. I can easily see you getting married and having children together. Your relationship is exactly the way mine was and still is with your father. We were 19 years old when we met though, you found your one true love much younger and I could not be more happy for you."

"I would happily marry him and bear his children. I love him so, so much. I could not imagine having that with anyone else. I know he has his issues especially with depression but I know that he also loves me unconditionally and I am as he puts it 'the light of his life'. I always feel so warm and so loved when he holds me in a way that says he will never let me go and when runs his fingers through my hair that has always made Petunia jealous even when we got along," she added that last bit as a joke. 

Violet hugged her daughter and had a trace of tears in her eyes. "I love you my sweet daughter and I cannot believe how much you have grown. I want nothing less than to see you happy. Now, go enjoy your day with Severus, he is waiting for you. Come back in a couple hours when I have dinner ready," 

With that Lily went outside and jumped into Severus' arms. He picked her up and spun her around as they kissed passionately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the moments between Remus and Severus as well as Lily and Violet in this chapter. Also don't forget to leave your votes in the comments on which secondary pairing you guys want to see in the story. Deadline is next chapter, after that the final decision will be made based on highest number. 
> 
> Remus/Mary: 8  
> Remus/Cassandra: 4


	25. The Winter Holidays Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the late chapter. I have been having internet issues and my work wasn't saving properly so I just took a small break until it started working right again. I was also trying to determine how to do Mulciber's trial. Do you guys want me to write Mulciber's trial a chapter in this story, a separate one-shot, or just not include the entire thing but make it known what happens to him? Because I am not gonna lie, I know next to nothing about how that works in here so if I do write it, I will be making a lot of it up. Let me know what you guys want and I'll be more than happy to do it. Nevertheless, enjoy this chapter that I was finally able to get it done.

The days following the return home for the winter holidays were pretty... eventful, for lack of a better word. Severus had finally understood why Violet and John were so disgusted with Petunia's boyfriend at last. His name is Vernon Dursley and he's a pig in every sense with no table manners whatsoever, he's as arrogant as Violet said he was, he's about the size of a hippo and his hygiene makes Severus' common disheveled state look minimal. Every time he is in the room, Severus finds his hand inching closer and closer to his wand and Petunia, as if she isn't bad enough on her own, is constantly comparing him to the pig and using him as an example of what "normal" should be. This certainly is not doing any favors for his already strained temper, in fact, if it wasn't for him being a Muggle, he would have already hexed him five times over. However, on Christmas Eve afternoon, he finally went too far and made a rather disturbing comment toward Lily when no one else was around. Big mistake on his part as Severus punched the man square in the jaw and stormed out of the house without his jacket and Lily quickly following. 

"Sev, where are you going?" Lily asked, once she caught up to him.

"I just need to get away from him for a while. There's something I have to do anyways, I won't be gone long," Severus responded. 

"Why did you lose your temper like that? You only react that way around Potter usually," Lily stated, curiously. 

"After that crude comment the disgusting pig had the gall to make about you, in front of me no less, he's lucky he isn't eating his food through a straw. He has absolutely no right to be talking about you like that under any circumstances," Severus responded, still clearly very angry. 

Lily put her hand on his arm. "I appreciate you trying to defend me, Sev but you cannot just lose your temper every time someone says something rude and/or sexual to me. I am a beautiful girl Sev, it's bound to happen and I am not trying to brag about that in any way, in fact, I hate the attention I am always getting because of how I look especially now that I am in a relationship, but some men will only see the pretty girl and nothing more. Take Potter for example on that one. Not everyone is you when it comes to me, Sev, whether you believe it or not."

"I know how much you hate it, Lily, I mean your beauty would put a Veela to shame, but I cannot just sit back and watch some bastard be rude to you in front of me. I was not made that way." 

"Would you please come back inside now, Sev?" 

"I will in a bit, Lily, I've got something to take care of, it won't take long. I'm meeting Inias to discuss something special I wanted to get you for Christmas tomorrow. I wrote him the day after we got home asking him if he could get it for me."

"I'm sure I'll love it. You are always creative with things like this after all." 

"Only for you my angel. Tell your parents I'll be back in a few minutes." 

"Will do, Sev," and with that she gave him a quick hug and a kiss and after Sev retrieved his jacket that he had left behind earlier when he stormed out, he went down to the end of the street where he was supposed to be meeting Inias. 

Severus arrived at the spot at last and was met with Inias' voice, "I've been standing here in the freezing cold for 10 minutes now waiting for you, what is that all about," Inias said, although he was smiling. 

"Sorry I'm late. Lily's sister's pig for a boyfriend said something to Lily that really pissed me off so I just needed to cool down for a bit," Severus said. 

"Well, happens to the best of us. I was in love once a long time ago." 

"You were? What happened?" 

"It's ancient history, Severus and if I told you the whole story it would blow your mind, trust me." 

"Try me." 

"Not now, Severus. I will tell you though, I promise and it will be very important for you to know, but right now we're not here to discuss my love life, we're here to discuss yours. I got the thing you asked me to. It was quite expensive to have done, but for me that's no big deal." 

Inias handed Severus a black box. Inside it was a beautiful custom made necklace with a shiny, Lily shaped flower on it that contained black lettering that said "My Angel Forever." Severus knew immediately what giving this to Lily would mean, but he wanted to make it known just how much she meant to him and how serious he was about their future together. 

"It has a load of protective enchantments on it," Inias said. "It has anti-theft charms that will electrocute anyone who tries to take it from her. These will activate once she puts it on and in order for anyone else to so much as touch it, she has to allow them to do so. Only you or I would be exempt from this. It also has enchantments that will protect it from any and all kinds of damage, and it has enchantments that that will protect her from all forms of Mind Magic, including Legilimency and the Imperius Curse, and it will protect her from most forms of Dark Magic, barring the Cruciatus and Killing curses. This is a once in a lifetime relic, Severus, I truly hope she is worth it to be getting something so sacred from you." 

"She is, Inias. I would give the entire world just for her. I wanted to give her this just to prove how much I love her, but thanks for getting the extra things done to it even though I wasn't asking you to," 

"I also wanted to give you this. I know it's a day early, but I won't be able to come tomorrow to give it to you. It's an old potions book written back back in the 18th century. It was Eileen's that I think she herself wanted to give to you some day, but since she's no longer around, I will do so myself. I think you'll find it interesting and useful." 

"Thanks, Inias. You have helped me out quite a bit since we met. It's always nice to have family by blood to talk to, I thought my mother was the last one for the longest time." 

"I thought the same thing about myself, too. Remember I didn't even know she existed until she reached out to me before that bastard murdered her in cold blood. Anyway you should get back to Lily. Don't want her worrying after all."

"Right. Hope to see you again soon," and with that he slipped the box containing Lily's gift in his pocket and walked off and began the journey back home, while Inias apparated away. 

After walking in the door, Severus was met with the sight of Violet and John, as well as Petunia and Vernon, who was icing his jaw which already had a large purple bruise forming right where Severus punched him. 'Good' he thought. The tension in the room was as thick as the clouds on a snowy afternoon. Violet and John looked up at him and John was the first to speak. 

"I have to ask, Severus, did you do this?" he asked, nodding at Vernon. "If so, please explain why because I cannot condone random violence in my house," 

Severus set his book down and responded almost immediately. "Absolutely. He should have known better than to call Lily a 'whorish freak' in front of me." At this, both Violet and John glared at Vernon. "If he speaks about her like that any further in front of me, I'll make sure to break his jaw next time," Severus finished. 

Violet was the next to speak, "While we greatly appreciate you defending Lily, please refrain from any further physical altercations. That is not the answer. As for you," she said, looking at Vernon. "If you ever talk about my daughter like that under this roof again, you will never be coming back to this house so long as we are around. This is your one and only warning. Do you understand me?" she asked. Her voice as cold as the temperature outside. 

At Vernon's nod, Violet responded with a simple "Good." 

After a few minutes, Severus took his book upstairs and added it to his already growing collection. He then tucked Lily's gift somewhere nice and secure so he could be prepared to give it to her tomorrow morning. He briefly heard Petunia downstairs, obviously throwing one of her famous tantrums. If he was being honest, he feels bad for any child that she will have in the future. Thank Merlin Lily never acts like this. He wonders often how those two could even be sisters, they are polar opposites in every possible way. Lily is always calm and collected, rarely ever getting angry and when she does it's always for a very good reason. She is beautiful in every way possible, so much so that she could easily put a Veela to shame, and there's Petunia, childish and getting angry and throwing tantrums at the dumbest things ever, and in terms of looks, she could never hold a candle to Lily. As much as Petunia gets on his nerves, however, he feels like if she would actually grow up, she could actually be respectable and could easily do better than Vernon 'the pig' Dursley. As the hours went by, he found himself growing more and more tired. He and Lily talked and cuddled for a while before she went to bed and he fell asleep too not too long after. 

Christmas morning was the most wonderful he had ever experienced. When he woke up, everyone else was already awake with the exception of John. Severus was actually surprised at this because he's usually the first one up, but did not give it much thought as he gathered Lily's gift and went downstairs. He was greeted warmly by everyone except Petunia and Vernon of course, but he couldn't care less about them. After breakfast, Violet gave Severus his gift from her and John. It was a new winter jacket to replace his torn and frayed one, which he thanked her greatly for. She also promised to cut his hair later at his request as it was time he finally did so. Inias had already given him his gift, Remus had sent him a new quill and ink with an apology that this was all he could get him at the moment. Lily had of course given him another book, one that she didn't realize he already had but he appreciated it nonetheless. Now it was finally time for Severus to give Lily her gift. He took out the black box and opened it. Lily gasped immediately at what she saw. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He had also given her a note explaining everything about it, what sort of enchantments are on it which she quickly read. 

"Sev..." Lily was speechless. All she could ask was "however did you get this? I have never seen anything like it." 

"I asked Inias to have it custom made. I have no clue where he did so, but if you look closely at it," he pointed to the middle where the black lettering was. Lily could only smile at him as she saw what it said. She asked him to put it on her. He agreed without hesitation and it was just perfect for her. "I will keep it with me always," she said and then kissed him. Lily also showed Violet what Severus had given her and she too was very surprised especially once she learned how difficult it must have been to acquire such a thing. The day went by in a breeze. After the Christmas dinner the family always had, Violet was getting ready to cut Severus' hair when Lily came to inform him that she had a letter from Inias that was addressed to him. He told Violet he would be right back and went up to his room to see what Inias was contacting him about. He opened the letter and began to read:

Severus, 

I know you will have a lot of questions when you are done reading this. I warned you that you will be 'mind blown' as the Muggle saying is, so be prepared. My love that I mentioned? She was a Muggle. Her name as of now is Amelia 'Amy' Macdonald. We were together for some time before we both decided that it would be best that we ended the relationship. She moved on after a while and met someone new, but at the time what I didn't realize was that she was pregnant when we separated. The man who she is married to knows the girl wasn't his, and he has since accepted it so don't worry, no other relationships were ruined because of it. I know you are wondering who said girl is and if you know her. Well, what I can tell you is that she is close with your friend Remus and the way you talked about their relationship, he is her current love interest. Yes, you are reading correctly. Mary Elizabeth Macdonald is my daughter. Please do not tell her this next time you see her, it is better that she is kept in the dark about who her true father is unless she wants to actively seek me out. I told you this because I trust you, Severus. You are the last of our family as far as everyone knows until you and Lily have children of your own and I do not want to have to regret giving you that trust. You can tell Lily if you wish just as long as she keeps the same promise you just made. With this all in mind, I hope you are well and I hope to see you again soon. 

-Inias. 

Severus was indeed mind blown. He had absolutely nothing to say to that. The girl who could potentially become Remus' girlfriend if he would get the confidence to get to know her better was Inias Prince's daughter. He re-read the letter a second and third time to make sure he was reading correctly and there was no mistake in his reading. He also knew Inias was not lying either, this was real. Mary is his daughter and is completely unaware of that fact. He would of course keep his promise but he was going to tell Lily because he never keeps anything from her. Speaking of her as if on cue she entered the room and saw his stunned look. 

"What is it, Sev?" she asked. 

Severus handed her the letter. "Just read it. And you cannot tell anyone, I mean anyone what you read in there. Inias made me promise I wouldn't and said I could tell you as long as you made the same promise," he said. 

"Okay, I promise I won't say anything and I am guessing from that look on your face it is something quite shocking," Lily guessed. 

"That is quite the understatement. Violet is waiting for me downstairs so we'll talk when I am done?" Severus asked. 

Lily nodded. Once Severus left and went back downstairs, Lily began to read. By the time she was done, she had an identical expression to Severus when he first read it. She too was rendered speechless by the revelation. She would of course honor Severus and Inias' wishes to keep quiet. She had only met him a couple times and they never really talked, but she liked him and could tell he was a good person. With that, she she set the letter down and went downstairs to join Severus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter to decide which pairing you want whether it be Remus/Mary or Remus/Cassandra. Current results are the same as last time: 
> 
> Remus/Mary: 8  
> Remus/Cassandra: 4


	26. The Fate of Derrick Mulciber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, still alive, sorry for the irregular updates but I am doing them as my schedule allows. I admit though I have no idea what I am doing here so I am just going to bite the bullet and get to it. I hope you guys enjoy.

It was now the 9th of January and Severus had a strange feeling of foreboding. That is, until he remembered what today really was. It was the day Mulciber would face the consequences of what he had done to both him and Mary. Severus wanted nothing more than the satisfaction of making sure he got caged like the dog he is. Lily had gone back to Hogwarts at Severus' insistence that he would go alone and meet her up there later. He didn't want her to relive the emotional moment of what had happened to him by being anywhere near when this trial went down as he already felt guilty for having to drag Mary into this. 

"It's going to be alright, Mary. After today he will be gone for a very long time. You will be a big part of that," Severus said.

"I know, Sev but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Every day I am reminded of what he tried to do to me," Mary responded. 

"My mother was raped for years by my abusive alcoholic father. It destroys a person completely. I am just glad I found you in time before he could do anything worse," 

Mary was about to respond but the tolling of a clock informed them that it was time. They both entered the ominous looking courtroom where Mulciber was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, warded chains bound to his wrists and ankles. Severus almost felt sorry for him, almost. Moments later the leader announced the beginning of the trial. 

"Criminal trial of January 9th, 1976, involving one individual by the name of Derrick Mulciber, age of 15 years. Derrick Mulciber, you are here on charges of the use of the Cruciatus curse, three counts, conspiring to use the Imperius curse, attempted sexual assault of a young girl, and conspiring to commit an act of sexual assault against a secondary individual. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?" the leader asked. 

"Not guilty," Mulciber answered. 

"Very well then. Do you consent to the use of Veritaserum?" 

"Eat me," Mulciber responded, smiling internally knowing both Severus and Mary would have to retell every detail now. 

"If that is your answer, then so be it." The leader called on Mary first and she walked up to the front of the room. 

"Miss Macdonald, I understand this will be difficult, but I need you to think back to the day he attacked you. Did he give you any sort of warning, like he had planned on targeting you beforehand?"

"Yes, I think he was there waiting, but I do not think it was for me. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and happened to be of muggleborn status, so he attacked me instead of who he was planning on showing up there at the time," Mary paused before continuing. "When he started running his hands all over my body and calling me 'mudblood' I knew something ghastly was going to happen, until Severus Snape showed up and stopped it. I suspect he was actually trying to get Lily Evans, Severus' girlfriend." she finished. 

"Why do you suspect she was the initial target? It sounds like this was planned to be directed at you," 

"I do not know the full story, only a few details that both he and Lily have shared with me. That's it, really." 

"That's okay, Miss Macdonald, you've done well. You can step outside now if you'd like." Mary wasted no time in doing so, she has had enough for one day. 

Severus was the next to be called up and before the leader had even asked him to begin he had right away. "The day I was attacked, I was simply minding my own business. I had sent a letter to the last living family member I have and suddenly Mulciber was there. After he attacked Mary, I broke his wand to ensure he couldn't do anything like that again, but he had acquired a new one somehow. Before I realized what was happening, I was on the ground feeling more pain than ever before in my entire life. He cast the curse three times, each time worse than the last. I managed to cast a spell of unknown origin to completely drain his magical energy before I lost consciousness." Severus finished. 

"Before the Mary Macdonald incident, what happened that caused him to want to do you harm?" the leader asked. 

"I had a rough childhood growing up. Lily Evans was the only one who had ever shown me any kindness, and I was being bullied at Hogwarts since the very first day. So when Mulciber and his group showed interest in me, I wanted to fit in with them. However, the summer before my fifth year at Hogwarts, Lily said some things to me that made me re-think my decision and I abandoned them, quite harshly. That didn't sit well with Mulciber so he tried to get back at me in the one way he knew he could, by harming Lily, but he screwed up and got Mary instead."

"Very well, Severus. You may step outside with Miss Macdonald or return to your seat while we review the evidence we have accumulated since Mr. Mulciber's arrest." 

About an hour and a half later, the trial resumed. The leader and the same auror that arrested Mulciber began speaking. 

"Now will come the time to decide the guilt and sentencing. Use of the Cruciatus curse, three counts?" the leader asked. 

"Guilty," the auror responded. 

"Attempted sexual assault of a young girl?" 

"Guilty."

"Conspiracy to use the Imperius curse for immoral purposes?"

"Guilty."

"Conspiracy to commit sexual assault against Miss Lily Evans?" 

"Guilty." 

"Very well then, the decision has been made. Derrick Mulciber, you are hereby sentenced to serve the remainder of your natural life in Azkaban Prison, as well as 26 years to be served consecutively. Be thankful, Mr. Mulciber, that no permanent harm had come to Severus Snape, because if it had, you would have been sentenced to death." 

With that everyone cleared out, except those who would be taking Mulciber to his new, permanent home of Azkaban Prison. Severus joined Mary outside. 

"It's over, Mary. His sentence is permanent," he told her. 

"Oh thank Merlin! It's finally over. He won't be able to hurt anyone else again, that is such a relief," Mary hugged him. 

"We best get back to Hogwarts, I am sure Lily will be pestering me about not letting her come with us as well as wanting to know how it went," Severus joked. 

"She will understand, Severus. She didn't know what happened to me until after Mulciber's arrest, and I made sure she knew I was doing okay, but what happened to you was devastating for her. I am roommates with her, Severus and I stayed up hours into the night comforting her as she cried herself to sleep every night you were in the Hospital Wing after what that bastard did to you. I have never seen love as powerful as the love she has for you and she would have been reliving that pain if she had been there and I am thankful she didn't come as well," Mary responded. 

Severus nodded and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before they flooed back to Hogwarts, landing promptly in Dumbledore's office, where he was greeted by the sight of Dumbledore, Remus and Lily, the latter of which, to Severus' surprise did not look angry at all. Mary went over to hug Remus, but stopped short and looked down, giving an embarrassed chuckle. Severus looked into Lily's beautiful eyes that he loved so much.

"How'd it go, Sev?" Lily asked. 

"His sentence is permanent. I'll give you more details later if you want them, but for now let's just enjoy the moment," Severus responded, hugging her tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom! He got his comeuppance. Also based on final results, the secondary pairing will be Remus Lupin/Mary Macdonald. I'll bring you chapter 27 as soon as I can but no promises on when it will be out.


	27. Amara the Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome back. I couldn't get to sleep last night so I decided to hop on AO3 and finish/post chapter 27 that I know many of you are so eagerly waiting for. I hope you enjoy :)

The days following Mulciber's trial and sentencing were blissful for Severus. The remaining Death Eaters in training were of course still pestering him, but they never actually tried to deal him any harm, especially Rosier and Wilkes who knew that attacking him now would be a very bad idea. He was improving greatly in Transfiguration, and Herbology, and the rest of his classes were, as always, going spectacularly. After finishing the last class of the day, he spent time with Lily, Remus and her friends who, at this point, he could call his own. Their own little circle. Mary and Remus seemed to be growing closer, thanks to Severus managing to talk some self confidence into him. They all talked about the usual, OWLs, complex magic, James Potter and his cronies being jackasses. Frank, Alice and Cassandra were all still shocked at Severus' new, less than shoulder length hair as they thought it looked almost unnatural for him. He couldn't help but chuckle in agreement there, but he liked it. After some time, curfew was upon them and they were forced to go back to their respective common rooms. It did not take Severus long to enter his dormitory and fall asleep. However, after he fell asleep, something very strange happened to him. He woke up in a bright white room with two large golden doors on the opposite side. Severus was confused. 

'Where am I?" He thought. 'Am I dead?'

"No, Severus you are not," a warm female voice called out to him. 

He abruptly turned around to see-well something he never thought he would. A woman with blonde hair was standing before him. But this wasn't unusual, what was unusual was her bright white wings, that gave off light on their own and were almost too bright to look at. After a few moments, they folded back in from their extended state and vanished. 

"We have a lot to talk about, Severus," the woman said. 

"I'm sorry, but, what are you?" Severus asked, feeling totally air-headed at what he just witnessed. 

The woman smiled. "Well I'm an angel of course. You can call me Amara. What you just witnessed is me in my true form." 

"You talk to me like you know me, have we met before?"

"Not personally, no. But I met your uncle Inias, he just doesn't remember me specifically. I am the one who revealed Eileen's pregnancy and existence to him. Why I did so was because it was crucial that you two met and got to know each other. He has a weapon that you will need in your future."

"I don't understand, if that was your purpose was to make us meet, we already have so why are you talking to me, no offense of course." 

Amara sighed. "Okay, Severus, are you aware of a man calling himself Lord Voldemort?" 

"Yes of course. I am housemates with those who seek to join him in his cause to eradicate everyone who is not a pure-blood," Severus responded. 

"Well he has become rather problematic. He has done something we cannot allow multiple times and we have decided that enough is enough. He has damaged his soul purposefully in an unnatural way. However, the thing we do not know is why, or what he did exactly. He has gone to great lengths to conceal that, knowing we would get involved if we found out. That is why I am here, revealing myself to a human for the first time in over 2,000 years. Me and the others, we need to find out what he did, and then...deal with him," 

"Then why do you need me?" Severus asked, getting a little impatient. 

"Because a war is brewing, Severus," Amara replied, getting irritated at Severus' attitude. "You intend to fight in it. You and all those that you will fight alongside will be crucial for the fate of the Wizarding World. Us, the angels, will assist in any way we can, but we cannot do all the work Severus. If too many people found out we were still around they would be begging us to fix all their problems. That is why we left in the first place, we decided to let the world we created take on a life of its own without us guiding them, until Voldemort came along. He is causing disturbance that we cannot ignore as I said before," she finished. 

"Okay, I get it, Amara. You guys are the original magicals, the very first to exist. But did you come just to tell me about Voldemort or did you come for something else?" Severus asked. 

"I came for something else, Severus. As I said, you are going to be fighting in a war against Voldemort and his followers. But, as of right now, you are not nearly strong enough. In a one-on-one battle, Voldemort would incinerate you in two seconds flat. However, what I can do is, improve your magical core, or rather repair it." 

"My magical core is fine, Amara, what do you mean?" Severus asked, slightly wary. 

"No it isn't, Severus. Have you noticed any...abnormalities with your magic? Well that's because there is a block on your core. One to prevent you from accessing the oldest and most powerful kind of magic out there that has been in your family bloodline since the very beginning...celestial or rather angel magic. I suspect the block was placed there by your mother to limit accidental magic outbursts when your father would relentlessly do you harm." 

"Then can you fix it?" 

"Absolutely. But I warn you, it will be incredibly painful. More pain than you ever endured in your life...yes even worse than the Cruciatus, but I promise you that it will do you no further harm once it's finished." 

"Okay, do it," Severus said, warily. 

Amara walked over to Severus, her hand glowing brightly. She placed it directly over his heart and he instantly fell to the ground, screaming in agony. He felt as if he was being burned from the inside out. After several moments, the bindings on his core burned away and he was able to stand back up on his feet as if nothing happened in the first place. 

"It is done, Severus. You should take time to get control of these newfound abilities, it will be quite a shock at how powerful you have just become, so be extremely careful, you could easily kill or seriously injure somebody. Celestial magic is the most dangerous kind of magic out there for a human to wield, even worse than the Unforgivable curses in the wrong hands." 

"What exactly has been done to me? What has my power been increased to?" 

"Your regular magic has been enhanced to the point you can use it without the aid of a wand should you need to. Your mental clarity is greatly increased, meaning you will be extremely skilled at Occlumency as well as Legilimency, naturally. Your body will also be able to regenerate quickly from any wound that is not caused by an angel forged weapon, as you may notice eventually all of your scars have been healed. You can also use this to heal others with a simple touch both on a physical and an emotional level, you will be able to see and feel a person's magical aura. This will allow you to determine whether or not they are light or dark in nature. Last but not least, you will be able to command objects to move with a simple thought. This is the defensive or passive celestial magic." 

"The offensive or aggressive celestial magic is much darker. Let's just say that what you can do here would make even Voldemort think twice about being on the receiving end of it. There is nothing specific to list here aside from that you could simply put someone to sleep as if they were stunned, you could cause them great pain and maim them, or you could incinerate them outright. You will also need to keep your emotions in check as this kind of magic is heavily influenced by emotions. Negative emotions such as rage tend to make offensive magic more powerful and positive emotions such as love tend to make defensive magic more powerful." 

"I feel different already. Don't worry, Amara, I won't use the nasty stuff until I am actually fighting Death Eaters."

"I know you won't, Severus. I can see inside you and I see nothing but good. You will make those who do unspeakable acts to others pay for what they have done. I must go, Severus. Remember the things I told you and I will be back when you are in your 7th year in education, when you are finally ready to begin your journey. I will also be talking to Lily at the same time as she also has a crucial part in the future." 

With that, Amara faded as if she were just a mirage and Severus woke up right where he was before, except it was now sunrise and everyone else was still asleep. He did not feel tired at all which led him to believe he was asleep the entire time and the whole thing happened in his mind. However, as he sat up, he touched into his newfound power and his eyes began to emit a very bright, bluish-purple color glow as the raw magic coursed through him. After several moments his eyes went back to normal as he let go of his magic. He was sure, now, that he would have little trouble with the Death Eaters and James Potter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, we finally see our first angel in the series and get some info on Lord Voldemort. How do you think Lily will react to Severus' newfound power? Post your thoughts below if you wish. Also, I want to make something clear so it isn't confusing, no Severus is not immortal. He may be able to regenerate quickly but if he gets hurt too badly before his body is able to repair the damage he will die, and if he is struck by a Killing Curse he will die as it kills its targets outright. Only full-blooded angels like Amara are immortal and although Severus now has 100% access to the very same kind of magic that angels do, he is not one of them.


	28. Element of Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome back. Chapter 28 is officially completed. This is a longer chapter than normal (2,445 words vs the usual 1.5k) so I am surprised this did not take longer. I also have part of chapter 29 written as well so there shouldn't be nearly as much of a break between chapters. Also, with this fic coming to a close soon, I am going to begin outlining Year Six which will be the second story in this series of four. If you guys want any one-shots or anything like that in relation to this story while I prepare Year Six after this one is finished, I will be more than happy to write up a few for you. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Nearly a month has passed since Severus' meeting with the silvery blonde Angel Amara. Severus discovered quickly what she meant when she had told him his power has been increased exponentially. The spells he used to have to concentrate on to properly use, mainly Transfiguration spells, he can now perform effortlessly. The one thing he had quickly discovered about his new magical abilities given to him by Amara was that his eyes gave off a bright glow when he tapped into them. He still has not told Lily, Remus or anyone else about this, as he just has no idea what to say to them. 'Hello there, I was visited by an Angel in my dreams and she gave me super advanced Angel powers that very few humans have ever possessed,' just wouldn't do it. Best case, they would think he's lost his mind completely and worst case, they'd think he had performed some kind of dark ritual on himself. This was a problem because both were becoming increasingly worried about him and Lily was getting rather irritated that he wasn't telling her anything when she knows for a fact that something is different about him. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, however, Lily would be expecting him to spend the day with her. Despite Severus' disdain for the ridiculous holiday, he would do it. Just for her. It was time he made his decision that he would tell Lily everything. Remus would have to wait for now until he figured out the right approach there too. However, before he could come up with a plan, Lily approached him with her arms crossed, a clear sign of irritation. 

"Severus, are we going to talk now or are you going to continue avoiding me?" Lily asked, a hint of hurt and anger in her voice. 

"Lily, I was never avoiding you. My situation is rather...unusual. I just needed to figure out a way to tell you that didn't sound totally outrageous, but I don't think that is going to work," Severus responded.

"I am upset because you are keeping something big from me, Sev. We are a couple and we promised we would not do this to one another. You have not only concealed it from me, but from Remus as well who has always been on your side to the point that he nearly got himself expelled if you remember what happened last term. Now, tell me what the hell is going on, please," she finished. 

"I will, my love, I promise. I can't now though there's too many listening ears. Meet me at 8:30 tonight in the unused classroom on the second floor that I told you about where I like to go clear my head sometimes. I will tell you everything then." With that she seemed satisfied and they walked off together. 

In the unused classroom at 8:30, as if on cue, Lily walked in. Severus motioned her to sit down next to him. 

"Sev, whatever it is, I can deal with it. I don't think there is anything that could make me think any less of you," Lily assured.

"I know you can, Lily and I was a fool to think otherwise. I told you to sit down because what I am about to tell you will no doubt be the most outrageous thing you have ever heard. Even if you buy the story, I am not sure Remus will and that is why I was hesitant about telling you because I wanted to tell him too but you're my girlfriend, the center of my universe. You deserve to know before anyone else," Severus said. 

"Sev, please just tell me," she took his hand in hers. 

Severus sighed. "It was the night after me and Mary got back from Mulciber's trial. Lily do you remember when I told you about Angels and whether I was unsure if they were still a thing or not despite the proof that they once were?" 

"Yes of course. I still have their story at home as a matter of fact," she was confused at his sudden mention of Angels but listened anyway. 

"Well anyways, after I had fallen asleep, one came to visit me in my mind. I had no idea where I was, in fact I thought I had died somehow at first until she assured me I hadn't. Her name was Amara and her presence alone was beautiful I cannot even begin to describe it." 

"Wait, you met an Angel? I'm sorry, Sev that does truly sound outrageous. I believe you don't get me wrong, but this will take a moment. Did anything else happen?" 

"Quite a bit. First she gave me some information about Lord Voldemort. Not much, mind you, just that he had done some horrific rituals on himself that defy nature itself, something that she was refusing to tolerate any longer. She told me that you and I would be the two single biggest roles in his inevitable downfall. But the best of the bunch, apparently Angel magic runs in my family." 

"How could that be? You have never shown any magic beyond the normal. I mean sure you have always been good with spells, but the ones I have seen you do, anyone can do. Besides if this were true, why didn't your mother ever do more for you and herself? She would have been immensely powerful and someone like your so called father would never have been able to murder her in cold blood like he did."

"Lily, she wouldn't have been immortal, only real Angels are. We just happened to have the capabilities of using the very same kind of magic that they can use. As for my mother and me, she was a pacifist, Lily. She would never use her magic to harm somebody else even if it meant her life. As for me, she didn't want me to accidentally hurt someone with an accidental magic outburst. When she visited me, she removed the block. It caused me immense, incapacitating pain until it was done mind you, but in other words I am powerful now. So powerful in fact that I do not know my limits and I have been too afraid to really experiment with it. I do have someone in mind that might be able to help me though." 

"I am guessing Inias then? He would have the same abilities as you." 

"No. Dumbledore. He is right here and he has lived for at least a century or close enough to it. He would know a thing or two and even if he can't help I can always go to Inias." 

"Sev, everything you have told me, I don't know what to say. I almost do want to say you have lost your mind...but please prove me wrong. I need to see some proof of the differences just so I know that it is real." 

"Okay, Lily, but please do not be afraid." He then closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them in the same blue-purple glow as he had done after his meeting with Amara. Lily was not afraid even in the slightest, in fact she put her hand to his cheek and stared at him in awe. 

"There is more, Lily. Amara only mentioned the basics of what I can do, but one thing that is evident to me as of right now is I can see your magical energy as well as the energy of everyone around me. I can even identify the person the magic belongs to which is how I knew you were coming earlier today despite you not making yourself obvious right away," Severus said while Lily looked even more amazed if that was even possible. Severus continued at her silence. 

"Every single scar that once marred my body has been completely healed and if my body receives any further damage from now on, it will heal much quicker and much more thoroughly than any other witch or wizard. She also told me that eventually I will be able to heal others emotionally, mentally and physically as well as a bunch of other things that are quite dark. In her own words 'you can simply render someone unconscious as if they were stunned, maim them or incinerate them outright.'

"I know you wouldn't do that to anyone, Sev. You turned off the dark path," Lily stated, confidently. 

"Yes I would, Lily. Don't you think for a second that I wouldn't kill anyone that meant you harm, or Mulciber if he ever got out of Azkaban."

"That's different, Sev. You would be protecting someone you love and in the case of Mulciber, most likely defending yourself." 

After several moments of silence, Lily had to ask. "About the healing thing, you didn't tell Remus because you didn't want to give him false hope of it being possible to fix him, am I right?"

'Wow she's good' he thought. "Yes, Lily that is part of the reason anyway. Alright, Lily what I am about to tell you may get complicated so I will do my best to make it less so. Lycanthropy is not a disease, Lily, despite what the idiots in the Ministry would have you believe. It is much more complicated than that. Do you know why the first transformation is always the worst regardless of who it is?"

"No, I just assumed because it was the first time. The body wouldn't be used to the changes yet," Lily answered. 

"That is part of it, but it isn't the main reason. Lycanthropy is actually a curse. A blood curse. Before the first full moon, even though it is not actually a disease it isn't much more than one either. After the first full moon, however, the curse will consume the person's being entirely and become a living part of them. So theoretically, yes I could 'cure' Remus with my newfound magical ability once I understand it better but since it has been so long there would be severe...unpleasant consequences for him. Best case, I would end up stripping his magic entirely. Worst case...let's just say he would be alive, but in a state worse than death." Lily looked horrified at this and instantly understood why Severus did not want to give Remus the hope that he could do anything. 

"Believe me, Lily, I know how much he resents himself for what he is and I desperately wish that I could fix him but I cannot take that chance. He's the closest friend I ever had that isn't you," Severus continued. 

"I understand, Sev. I really do. I am glad you told me everything, finally. I was worried that I had done something to upset you because you had been so distant." 

"No, Lily. I was never upset with you, I just needed to figure out a way to tell you what happened to me."

The two of them talked for a bit more and before either of them realized, they had fallen asleep holding each other. When they woke up the next morning nobody really noticed that Lily wasn't there as most of her dorm mates were still asleep and anyone that was actually awake didn't really speak to her regularly anyway. As for Severus' he couldn't care less about anyone in Slytherin except maybe Damon Jones who seems to be the only non-bigoted Slytherin in the castle as evidenced by the fact that he actually praised Severus and Lily's relationship even though she is muggleborn and a Gryffindor. However, before he could think on that any more, he needed to go see Dumbledore to get help with his current situation. After finally getting past the absurd gargoyle, he finally arrived at his destination. Dumbledore looked up from whatever he was working on to address Severus. 

"Ah, Severus. How may I help you?" Dumbledore asked, kindly. 

"I am in a bit of a situation. I assure you it's nothing bad, it is actually magical related. A bit of magic I do not have enough understanding of to trust myself to use," Severus said. 

"Does this bit of magic happen to be Angel magic?" Dumbledore asked, curiously,

"Yes, sir. How did you know?" 

"Although a human possessing Celestial magic is rare, it is not without precedent. Your entire family bloodline has it, as it is passed down through bloodlines as most rare magic is. Inias has it, you have it, and your future children will have it as well. I am also one of those that has the ability."

"I've heard the stories about how you defeated Gellert Grindelwald, but I thought that was just your skill, I didn't think magic itself had anything to do with it. As you always say, it is not magic that determines victory it is the person in control of it," 

"They are wise words and I stand by them every day. However, this case was one of those where that wasn't enough. Those were dark times, as dark as the ones everyone knows are steadily approaching us now. I do not wish to discuss specific events as the sacrifices that had to be made were not light."

"I understand sir. It was a war and I am sure many people lost someone. I won't ask anymore, because it really is not my place to do so, I apologize for saying anything about him in the first place."

"It's quite alright. I thank you for your understanding. Now, what is it you are having trouble with exactly?"

"I just don't know exactly how to use these new abilities. Amara did not explain much when she unbound them for me. I can understand some things, like the ability to sense and identify a person's magical energy and the fact that my eyes glow whenever I tap into my magic, at least the Celestial kind, but aside from that I do not know much else. 

"That is very interesting indeed, Severus. I will help you to the best of my ability, until you have full control. This could take a lot of time though since you have not had access to that part of your magic since you were born. You do not have the advantage of training with it your whole life like a witch or wizard does with their usual magic. You were thrown into it blind." 

"I am just afraid of the damage I could cause if I tried anything with it," Severus admitted.

"Need not worry. I assure you that will not happen. When do you want to start?" 

"As soon as possible."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a lot for reading guys, I really appreciate your support, it means a lot to me. Leave your thoughts in the comments below and I will catch you again in chapter 29!


	29. Connections Are Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys, I know I haven't updated in a while. I had chapter 29 completed initially, but I did not like the way it turned out so I scrapped the whole thing and reworked it. Between this, writer's block and my busy schedule I am finding it difficult to sit down and crank out a chapter. But, it is finally here. I am hoping to have this installment finished by November so we will just have to see. Enjoy the new update :)

The following weeks have been extremely tiring for Severus. The process of getting his magic under complete control has been taking its toll on him because of the constant usage of it and anyone who looks at him can tell just how tired he is these days. Although, most have contributed it to him just studying hard for OWLs hoping to get a perfect score like he always is (an accurate assumption) only two people know the real reason behind his condition. Despite all this, he feels like it will be worth it in the end because he is nearly a walking bomb after all. Losing control of that would be very bad. He had finally told Remus about his new self and he could definitely say that is a conversation that could have been better. If everything went according to plan, tonight's training session with Dumbledore would be his last and then he would be good to go. Aside from this, he kept up with the usual boring stuff; attending classes and doing homework. He seldom spent any time outside of studying these days and for once Remus and Lily seemed to be following suit. Although, this limited their time together quite severely, their marks would surely be there to show for it. At last, nightfall had arrived and it was time to show Dumbledore just how much he has improved. 

"Ah, Severus. You ready to continue where we left off last time?" Dumbledore asked, as soon as Severus arrived. 

"As ready as I will ever be, Sir," Severus responded. 

At Dumbledore's nod, Severus demonstrated his greatly increased degree of control. He was able to successfully summon a candlestick and light it at the same time with no effort or mishaps at all whatsoever. Dumbledore was rather surprised as just two nights ago, Severus was still having trouble getting the wandless summoning part down, let alone lighting a concentrated flame successfully without burning anything other than the intended. 

"It seems you are able to do this quite well without my aid after all. You just pulled off two of the most difficult things to master, at the same time no less," Dumbledore stated. 

"Yes, well, I have been practicing the summoning on things such as books or quills and I was increasing the distance with each successful attempt. As for the flame, it was just a matter of willing my magic. It is a lot more powerful and could do a lot more damage if I meant it to than the regular wizard magic, but the process of mastery is the same, just with increased difficulty. I have never practiced any kind of magic unaided before, not even the common kind which most certainly did not make it any easier on myself. I imagine everything else that comes with this new...upgrade will function the same way," Severus answered.

"I must admit, I am amazed on your knowledge of a branch of magic that was thought to be long extinct."

"It's not my knowledge on that per se, I just know how magic works. Celestial magic may be the most powerful magic in the world but it is still magic regardless. Hard to master, sure, but once I set my mind to something I always accomplish it." 

Dumbledore had to let out a small chuckle at that. "You most certainly do. I believe you can handle this now without my assistance. If you do need me again though, don't hesitate. I will be where I always am," and with that Severus left and headed for his dormitory where he would fall into a much needed sleep.

However, the next morning is when things would get chaotic. It started off normal enough, everyone went to their respectful tables. What Severus noticed however, was that James was lingering near where Lily, Remus and her dorm mates sat before walking down to his usual spot next to his two lackeys, Cassandra glaring after him. Lily came in, followed by Mary, Frank and Alice. As Lily sat down, Cassandra quickly ran over to James, Sirius and Peter. 

"What the hell did you just put in Lily's drink, Potter?" Cassandra angrily asked. 

"I didn't put anything in it, I don't know what you are talking about," James said, but Cassandra noticed the smirk and she quickly turned around. 

"LILY DON'T DRINK THAT!!" she shouted, but it was too late. Lily had already taken a drink and James smirked even more. However, to his surprise, Lily simply turned to Cassandra with a confused look on her face. 

"What's going on? What's wrong with my drink?" Lily asked. 

"I just watched Potter pour what I am most certain was a vial of love potion in it," Cassandra said, livid. 

Severus had heard that bit, however, and as Lily turned to look at James, Severus had already hit his boiling point and was about to get up, no doubt to attack him when he felt someone holding him back. He looked over to the person and he saw it was Damon Jones, one of the few Slytherins in his year that did not hold any disdain for muggles and muggleborns. 

"Don't Severus. It isn't worth it. It won't even work," Damon said. 

"What do you mean?" Severus asked, still clearly pissed off at what James just attempted. 

"You are like the top student in potions and you are telling me that you never read up on love potions before?" 

"No, the very idea of them disgusts me. I would never even consider using or brewing such a vile thing." 

At that moment, Severus looked up to see Lily deliver a hard punch straight to James' jaw, sending him straight to the floor. Once he was on the floor she delivered a sharp kick to his ribs and was quickly on him, punching him in the face repeatedly with many of his bullying victims cheering on. McGonagall quickly ran over to break up the fight and Severus could not help but laugh at watching James get his ass kicked. 

Damon shook his head and let out a small laugh as well before speaking again. "Anyway what I was saying before the entertainment was that love potion could never work on Lily. If the unfortunate victim is already in love with someone, that alone would counteract its effects. Simply put, she loves you too much. It wouldn't matter if she drank a gallon of the stuff it would be as if she were simply drinking water." 

Severus did not say much more than his thanks to Damon for stopping him from attacking James right then and there, knowing Lily would, and did, handle it herself. Eventually, he got up and followed Lily once he realized where she was going. 

"I cannot believe that asshole did that to you. Who the hell does he think he is?" Severus said once he caught up with her. 

"I can't be surprised. I should have known he would try this, even though I wasn't that worried if he did. I knew it wouldn't do anything to me but that doesn't make it okay by any means," she responded.

"I enjoyed watching you beat Potter down though. I'd watch that again any day," Severus laughed. 

"I did too, although I am pretty sure I broke my hand. Before you say it, no I don't want you to heal me. I'll simply wait for it to fix itself. After all, I need a good reminder of the blow I dealt to Potter's ego." 

"Alright, if you say so. If it becomes too much though just let me know."

Lily smiled at him as they continued to walk to the hospital wing. Once they arrived Madam Pomfrey walked out of her office. 

"Mr. Snape, what happened to you this time?" she asked. 

"Not me this time, it's Lily," Severus responded.

Madam Pomfrey then took note of Lily's right hand which was bruised and bleeding. She shook her head at that and quickly ran a check on it. 

"Well good news it isn't broken. Bad news is that it will be sprained for at least a week. This may make wand usage rather difficult. I'll clean the cuts and wrap it up and you will be good to go." 

Later, Severus had learned that Lily broke James' nose and cracked three of his ribs. She truly was a force of nature when she got pissed off. After they separated, Severus noticed he was being followed. He turned around and saw none other than James and his two lackeys. 

"Hello Snivellus." James said. 

Severus just rolled his eyes. "Potter I am warning you now, if you try anything, what my Lily did to you will just be the tip of the iceberg. Trust me when I say you don't want to mess with me," he said menacingly which made James shiver and Peter squeak in fear but Sirius remained solid. 

"STUPEFY!" James shouted. Severus simply held his hand out and the spell dissipated against an invisible barrier. However, he did not attack. 

"First one's free, Potter. Try again, and you will pay the consequences." 

As expected, James fired off another spell which also dissipated against Severus' shield. Severus retaliated by knocking James off his feet with a blast of energy. He turned to Sirius and Peter and quickly stunned them. James, still winded, looked up at Severus in horror as he took note of the bright glowing eyes. Severus knelt down and grabbed James by his collar. 

"Now you listen real close you piece of shit. I am powerful in ways you cannot even comprehend. I could kill you with a simple touch if I chose to do so, but I will not because even though you are an asshole you do not deserve to die. I know what you tried to do to Lily this morning. How you are not being expelled for that I will never know. Even if she hadn't been immune to it due to the connection we share I would have simply cleansed her of it and then came after you anyway, so I don't know what you thought you would get out of this but that shit was not okay, not even remotely. Since it is obvious you will not leave her alone no matter what I do, you leave me no other options, Potter. I am going to do to you, what I swore I would never do to someone else without their permission," Severus said, before putting his fingers on James' forehead before looking into his eyes.

"You will not attempt to manipulate or control Lily Evans any further. You will not talk to, think about, or make any type of advances towards Lily Evans, romantic or sexual. Last but not least, you will not reveal any information about what Remus Lupin is to anybody," with that, Severus let James go and walked away, feeling drained. As fancy as it is, Mind Compulsion does not come without a downside. It is a huge drain on his energy and it can be fought off with Occlumency, so it is not a great solution to an issue. But in this case, it was well worth it. James was no expert at Occlumency and If he was willing to go as far as to feed Lily a love potion, how long would it be before he forced himself upon her? Severus shuddered at that thought. He would do whatever it takes to protect his one true love, absolutely anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there we have it. Chapter 29 is wrapped up and chapter 30 is in the works. I will be seeing you all again soon. Until then, have a wonderful day.


	30. Worst Nightmare Realized

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I am back and bringing you the 30th chapter. This time we hear even worse details about Severus' dark past. I hope you enjoy the new chapter, it always makes me happy to bring you more content.

Over the following week, Lily had almost regretted not letting Severus heal her hand. The damage sometimes made it difficult for her to use it effectively. However, after her beat down of James Potter, despite her losing Gryffindor 20 points and gaining herself five days of detention, everyone who had ever been a victim of his bullying was praising her. What was really strange, however, was that after the event, James was not paying any attention to her whatsoever. She was glad to be rid of him of course, but now he was suddenly acting like she wasn't even there and she found that rather unusual since he had spent the last two years lusting after her and attacking Severus just because of their contact with one another. He was also acting rather scared of Severus which she could understand, having seen his power first hand, but something is telling her that there is more to it than this and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. After changing from her nightwear into her regular robes she headed downstairs. She found Severus in the hallway on his way to breakfast as well, although he had someone with him. She knew his face but could not remember his name and they were having a conversation she only heard the last bit of. 

"I can't believe you did that, Severus. That could have backfired horribly," the boy said. 

"Well, what was I supposed to do, Damon, let him get away with this? Dumbledore said they didn't have sufficient proof of what happened as the tainted substance mysteriously vanished. I know one of his lackeys covered up for him," Severus responded, angrily. 

Before Damon could respond, however, Lily came up to them. She looked at Severus then at Damon, warily. He noticed this and couldn't help but smile. 

"Name's Damon. Don't worry, not an Elitist," he said. 

"How can I trust you? Severus says almost everyone in his year is aspiring to join the dark side," Lily retorted. 

"Ouch. You know, with that judgement that makes you sound like them. No hard feelings though I do understand. Many of those in our year would rather see those of your blood squashed, but personally...meh. I couldn't care less about one's blood status. As long as you're not an asshole I got no issues. I'm going to go get breakfast now, I'm craving some pancakes," and with that he walked into the Hall. 

"Severus, I was wondering if we could talk," he raised his eyebrow. She almost never used his full name and when she did she was being serious. 

He led her out of sight and out of the way and that is when she asked the dreaded question "what happened between you and Potter after we left the Hospital wing?" 

"Nothing too much out of the ordinary. I was minding my own business, he and his lackeys attacked me, I knocked out Black and Pettigrew, made Potter shit himself and them compelled him to never try to manipulate you or talk to you," he responded in a bored voice and Lily was outraged. 

"Sev, you promised you wouldn't do that to somebody else! We don't even know what kind of effect that could have on somebody else," 

"Well what was I supposed to do Lily? Huh?! I watched him attempt to drug you with a love potion. Do you have any idea how hard it was not to incinerate him right there in the Great Hall in front of everyone?! If he did that how long was it going to be before he attempted to force himself upon you? I had to watch my so-called father rape my mother more than once growing up and I will be damned if I ever let that happen to anyone else. Don't say that Potter wouldn't do that either, Lily because you and I both knew he would. First Damon and now you. I thought at least you would understand why I did what I did given the reason the potion didn't work in the first place," and with that he walked off, not even sparing her a glance. She broke down in tears right there, realizing her worst nightmare. Is Severus going to break up with her? Is she going to lose the one she loves so dearly just because she didn't think about her wording? She didn't mean it to be so hostile she just wanted to make sure Severus didn't do something he would regret. She didn't even realize classes had started until Professor McGonagall found her and took her into her office. 

"Normally, I would be deducting house points and giving detentions for skipping class, Miss Evans, but seeing how you look right now, I see you are obviously going through a lot. Did something happen at home?" McGonagall asked gently. 

Lily shook her head and whispered "no." 

"Did something happen between you and Mr. Snape?" 

"I wanted to talk to him about something, but I made a poor choice of wording and he got really angry with me. The kind of anger he typically saves for Potter. I am scared he is going to leave me. I know what you are going to say, that I am too young to love but I love him professor, I really do. He means so much to me and I could never imagine life without him," and she broke down again at that.

"I wasn't going to say that at all, dear. I don't think you have anything to worry about, he feels the same about you. There is no way you could have done anything that would make him not forgive you. I'll tell you what, why don't you just take the day off and cool down. Talk to him when you are ready and make that stubborn fool realize how much he has hurt you."

"Thank you," she said and walked out of the room. She spent the remainder of the day in the common room thinking over what she would say to Severus and pray that he would forgive her. She was lost in her thoughts when she saw all of her friends walk in. She barely acknowledged them and Remus and Frank walked up to her. 

"Lily, Severus has not broken up with you. I will admit he was pissed, like Potter level pissed, but he's cooled down enough to listen to reason," Frank said. 

"I just don't know what to say really. He knows I screwed up, so what more would he want to hear?" Lily said, sadly. 

"He would want to hear that you are sorry and that you love him no matter what. I don't know what the fight was about, but he has cooled down, believe me," Cassandra said as Alice held Lily's hand in support. "There is still over an hour before curfew and you would know where he hangs out," Alice said, softly.

After hearing this, Lily got up and walked out. Mary leaned closer to Remus and said: "I hope he forgives her. She will be so devastated if he doesn't." 

"It would kill her," Remus agreed. "But I have faith in Severus. He may be a stubborn fool at times, but he knows that Lily would never intentionally do anything to hurt him." 

 

Lily found Severus in his usual hiding spot when he wanted to be alone. He regarded her with a simple tilt of his head, but aside from that, gave no indication that anyone had entered the room. 

"Sev, please listen to me," Lily started. "I know what I said hurt you because I made it sound like I was taking your enemy's side, but I promise I never meant for it to be that way. You know that I detest him just as much as you do, I just wanted to make sure that you hadn't done something that you would regret. If you want to end our relationship I will understand, but please know Severus that I love you always and forever. Losing you is my worst nightmare and I realize that now," 

"Lily, I would never under any circumstances end our relationship as long as I am still breathing. I forgive you, even though I shouldn't have to in the first place. What you said hurt me, but for reasons you know not because I never even gave any hints it was going on, much less talked about it. My worst nightmare is seeing done to you what was done to my mother and Potter was merely one step behind that." 

"What happened, Sev? You can tell me, you know that," she said, sitting down next to him and taking his hand. 

"You remember the day I found out exactly what happened when my mother was murdered? How Tobias raped her, got her pregnant and then killed her to prevent another 'Satan spawn' as he called me. Well that was far from the first time he had done that, only the other times the circumstances were so much worse," his voice caught before he regained his posture and Lily was listening intently. "When he decided to take his rage out on me, sometimes he would tire of physical punishment. He knew how much I looked up to my mother so he would hurt me by hurting her. He would rape her right there on the living room floor and make me watch every second of it. I had to listen as she begged for him to stop, unable to do anything to help her thanks to the binding she had placed on my core. If I tried to leave the room, he would simply tie me up like I were a dog. You grew up in a lovely home with lovely parents, I never got to have any of that. When Potter gave you that love potion like he did, it triggered all of those memories. I didn't react at first, but when the realization sunk in after I compelled him, I just lost my mind. The physical scars on my body are gone now, but the mental ones, they will remain with me forever. I did not mean to snap at you like I did, Lily I really didn't." 

Lily was crying now too and Severus held on to her like a lifeline. It broke her heart to see the normally strong Severus so broken and fragile. "Sev, you have to talk about these things or else they will just eat away at you forever. I know why you suddenly clung to me when you saw what I was in the park all those years ago, because I was the light in your world of darkness. Well now you are the light in mine. I may have had the family you didn't at first, Sev but that has changed. My parents love you like you are their own. Inias is glad he met you. Did you know that he was afraid he was going to be alone until he died? You saved him from that. His own daughter doesn't even know who he is by his own doing, you are all he has. Remus never had any friends that did not exploit his condition until you befriended him. When you and I are married we will have children of our own that will love you. You are not your father by any means, Sev you don't need to have that fear that you will turn into him. Just look at how you treat me. You treat me like an angel and your father treated your mother like she were filth. So, please my love don't ever doubt yourself."

"I never thought I was my father, Lily. I made an oath not to become him. You are right about why I took an interest in you so quickly. Even though your sister was a total bitch just because of how I looked you were never rude to me except the one time you thought I insulted you when you didn't understand what exactly I was trying to say." Lily gave a small laugh at that memory. She really had thought he meant to call her something much less friendly. It's amazing just how far they have come since then. 

"You know what else bothers me, Lily? I know I said I wouldn't go to the dark side, but I keep wondering if I can really stick to that. I won't join the Death Eaters that is off the table, but does that mean I am good? I feel intense rage at the smallest things sometimes and I don't know if that really makes me a good person." Severus wondered. 

"Yes it does, Sev. What you are feeling is normal. With Potter and those jackass friends of his bullying you, you are right to feel the way you do. But I know that isn't the main reason you are always angry with Potter specifically. I didn't know it at the time, but it was because of me. It was because of your love for me and your desire to be with me. That does not make you a bad person, Sev that makes you someone that can love more deeply than others. As for Black, he has a bad home situation. I am the expert on that because I am dating you after all and I know the signs. Pettigrew is just a coward who will follow anyone that makes him feel safe. Potter is just a jackass who only sees what he wants and nothing else. The difference between you two, is that you won my heart on your own by just being yourself. Potter tried to do it by using a potion. That is the difference between you two. You are good, Sev and your protective nature is part of you and I wouldn't want you to change it. He may be beyond redemption, but for Black you can forgive him if you look deep. I know you two will probably never be friends but, just let it go, Sev. All the rage, all the desire to hurt them. You don't need it anymore because you have me now, and you always will." 

Severus nodded and he hugged Lily tightly again. "I love you so much, my sweet angel." 

"I love you too, Sev. Always and forever." 

 

The next morning, people would be shocked for sure. Not just by Severus, but by Sirius as well. Sirius approached Severus from outside the door to the Great Hall. 

"Snape," he said. Severus did not respond. 

"Look...I know what James did to Lily wasn't right. I accept that now. I still do not like you, however, but I accept your relationship with her. Just don't hurt her." 

"Black, I'm done. I'm done fighting you, I'm done fighting Potter and Pettigrew. We are almost done with our fifth year now. We need to stop acting like children and grow up. I made my point to Potter and now I am making point to you. I am done. You should be too. Lily thinks you and I could never be friends and part of me wants to agree with her, but I will be willing to prove her wrong if you are willing to try," and with that, he walked away to join Remus and Lily at the Gryffindor table. There were dozens of stunned faces ,including Sirius Black, staring at Severus. They had heard everything. Severus will let his anger at the Marauders go, now all he had to worry about were the Death Eaters in training. He will always be on guard around them. He took Lily's hand in his and she smiled at him, letting him know that she hopes he can prove her wrong for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey we opened with Lily this time instead of Severus for once. Anyways I hope you enjoyed and I will get to chapter 31 right away.


	31. Trouble with Future Death Eaters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 31 is here. I want to get part one of this story done before Thanksgiving because I do not know when I will be able to update again after that as I will have to begin studying for finals. So, expect a series of rapid updates that will finish this off. Enjoy the new chapter and I will see you next time.
> 
> EDIT: Removed a small section that wasn't supposed to be in the final posted chapter. It should be fixed now.

The time following their fight, Lily and Severus did everything in their power to make sure such a disagreement would not happen again. She truly had not understood how much she hurt him with what he assumed was her siding with James Potter and he acknowledged that he was also at fault because she did not know and he exploded over something minor, at least that is how it looked for her. During this time, he had also discovered that a solution for werewolves was in the making, but with little to no success. After he told Remus he could not cure him without rendering him a squib best case he had been devastated. Severus promised he would look until he found something to ease his pain, if not cure it completely. This so-called solution may just be his starting point. He had no place where he could effectively work, however. He may have to write Inias to see if he has something in mind. One thing had his worry, however. The activity of the future Death Eaters in the school has been increasing. They were planning something, he just did not know what. Little did he know, tomorrow he would have his answer. 

 

Lily was having a great day. She had been very ecstatic when Severus had told her about a possible solution for Remus and then again once Remus told her that he and Mary had finally gotten together. She knew that they would be amazing together. As she continued on her way to meet Severus, she was broken out of her thoughts by the calling of "mudblood." She had her wand in her hand and spun around instantly, only to be faced with the unpleasant sight of Avery, Wilkes and Rosier. The future Death Eaters. Knowing this would end badly no matter what, she did the only thing she could think of and that was to attack. She fired off a stunner only to have one returned. After some fighting and knocking down Rosier and Wilkes, her wand was knocked out of her hand and she was ultimately blasted to the floor. Avery sneered at her and pulled out a strange silver dagger with a black handle that has emerald colored rubies embedded within it. 

"Did you really think you could beat us, Mudblood? You're in over your head. Silencing wards will prevent anyone from hearing us so don't even try calling for help," he said with a sinister smirk on his face.

"You wouldn't dare harm me. You know what Severus will do to you if you try. If I were you I would stop now and leave," Lily said confidently. 

"I am not afraid of him, you little slut. Your death shall ensure my place by the Dark Lord's side. And you have just been a pain in my ass for too long." As he raised the blade, it was suddenly blasted out of his hand by none other than Damon Jones who was followed by Severus Snape. Some time back, Damon had literally spat in his face and told him to go to hell when he made him an offering. Angrily, he raised his wand and fired off a bone breaking curse that hit Damon in his left leg, completely shattering it. As Damon fell, Severus attacked with his wand. Avery tried to disarm him at the very same time and spells collided causing a result nobody could have seen coming. Severus' wand was too weak to withstand his magical strength and this combined with the spells colliding, it literally exploded in his hand and pieces of wood were sent in every direction. The resulting shockwave had knocked both Severus and Avery down. Lily recovered her wand and stunned Avery, laying him unconscious next to his two followers. After Severus got back up he spotted Avery's dagger and noticed the familiar magic coming off it. It felt exactly like his own did. He quickly pocketed it and headed over to Damon and assessed just how bad the damage is. He knelt down and put his hand on his knee and after a few seconds, the broken bones snapped back into place and mended themselves back together. Damon was amazed but did not ask questions as he felt that Severus would not want to discuss it. They alerted the teachers as to what happened and Avery's punishment was to be determined. Severus was fine with this as long as the bastard saw justice. After Severus and Lily parted ways with Damon, Severus turned to Lily. 

"Just so you know, my wand exploded back there. I should have known it couldn't handle the increase in power," he said. 

"I don't understand, you've been using it since you met Amara and had no problems," Lily responded. 

"Well I wasn't using it in a duel before. When our spells collided it was too much for it. Without a wand, I won't be able to pass my classes as I can't do everything wandlessly without exposing myself to everybody,"

"Talk to Dumbledore about getting a temporary one to use for the rest of the year since it is almost over. You can get a replacement this summer," 

"I suppose I should go do that. I'll see you later." He gave her a good firm kiss on the lips before departing. She studying to do and he had to see about a temporary wand replacement. 

Once he had arrived at Dumbledore's office and gained entry, he knocked on the door where a voice called out "enter." He did so and explained his situation to the headmaster. 

"I see," Dumbledore said. "I figured something like this could have happened. We have a spare wand you can use for the time being. It won't work as good as your own would, but it will work for the moment until you can acquire a replacement." 

"Thank you, Sir," Severus responded. 

After acquiring his temporary wand he went about his day, business as usual. Aside from the fight with the future Death Eaters earlier, nothing exciting or unusual happened. He was highly curious as to the mysterious dagger he acquired from Avery. The magic in it feels exactly like his own and he could have sworn he heard about it somewhere. He would have to study it more closely tonight once classes ended. After several more hours, they finally did. He spent the remainder of his day with Lily and her friends with the exception of Mary as she was now with Remus and the two were probably getting used to the new relationship. Once it was time for curfew, Severus went back to his dorm and warded his bed as usual so the others couldn't bother him. Once this was done, he took another close look at the dagger. He used his magic on it as to hopefully identify it. At first nothing happened, so he concentrated a little harder. After a half an hour, he finally discovered its identity. He could hardly believe it at first, but by now he knows better than that. He quickly conjured a case to put the blade in and warded it as powerfully as it was possible so nobody else that wasn't him could access it and hid it under his pillow. The weapon he has acquired is none other than the legendary Emerald Dagger...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you are wondering: yes, Regulus Black does exist in this story, but he will not be introduced until part two. As for the Emerald Dagger that will be explained soon. Hope you enjoyed, chapters 32, 33 and 34 will be coming very, very soon.


	32. The Emerald Dagger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 32, followed by chapters 33 and 34 all in one major update. Not much happens here as it is really just an informational chapter about something that will be VERY important later. I hope you enjoy :)

The end of the year grew closer and closer by the day. OWL exams were now only a few weeks away. After Rosier, Avery and Wilkes attack on Lily, Avery was expelled from Hogwarts for attempting to use a deadly weapon to cause great harm to another student and Rosier and Wilkes were restricted to their common room, only being allowed out if someone was around to escort them. Meanwhile, Severus spent his time studying the Emerald Dagger that he had retrieved from Avery. While he knew of it, he did not know too much about its origins or what it exactly is. One thing was for certain though, judging by the magic it gave off, no way it was made by a normal witch or wizard. Whoever or whatever made this was extremely powerful and how Avery got his hands on it, he will never know. At least, it is in good hands now and no longer in the possession of a filthy Death Eater who would only use it to inflict harm on the innocent. At the suggestion of Lily and Remus, he wrote to Inias, asking him to look into it and he said he would let him know what he found. It has been weeks since then, and still no answer. Maybe there just wasn't any information about it available. However, the very next morning, a letter from Inias was waiting for him with exactly the information he was hoping for, but also something that would shock him to his very core. 

Severus, 

This is an incredible find you have made. Coming across any solid information about the Emerald Dagger was not easy, but I managed to anyway. Now, the Emerald Dagger is a very ancient, very powerful Angel forged weapon. The exact date it came into being is unknown, only that it has existed since the Medieval times. Nothing can destroy the blade and as far as anyone knows, it is the only weapon that is capable of killing Angels. It kills its victims by causing their magical core to explode, resulting in a burst of green light that looks very similar to the Killing Curse. This may even be what inspired said curse in the first place. Any non-fatal wounds caused by it can never be healed by any magical means and will always leave a permanent scar on the body. The power of this weapon surpasses that of even my own that I used to end your pathetic so-called father's life. How Avery's family got their hands on it, I will never know. What he was even doing with it in Hogwarts I will never know either, aside from trying to use it to kill your future wife. It is very fortunate that you got it from him, and I would recommend keeping it on you at all times as it cannot be summoned away from you and as of right now, with your wand being destroyed, this is your only defense unless you want to risk exposing yourself to Voldemort and his Death Eaters, which would be a very bad idea right now as you have the advantage with him being ignorant of your true power. I have been tracking any suspicious Death Eater activity and while there has been no major attacks, they are working up to it much faster than anyone would like. He is gaining supporters by the day and it will only be a matter of time before everything explodes into chaos as I suspect he has been planning since 1970 if not sooner. I will be there when such time comes to fight him, but until then, remember what I said about the Emerald Dagger. Do not lose it and keep it on yourself at all times.

-Inias

After reading this, Severus did as he was told and tucked the dagger away in his robes. Has Voldemort really been planning since before he even began his time at Hogwarts? He felt a growing resentment towards Amara. Wasn't the whole point of her unlocking his power so he could stop this entire thing from happening? It would have been nice if she had informed him that things had been threatening to boil over for nearly a decade. He has to face it now. There is no stopping what's coming. Many people, good people are going to die and there is nothing he can do to stop it, even with the Emerald Dagger. He doesn't even know how to destroy Voldemort and in a battle, getting close enough to him to even use the dagger on him would be nearly impossible, and even if he somehow managed it, something in the back of his mind is telling him that it would not be that easy. With this thought, he went about his day, but was unable to focus on anything. He spent the spare time he had with Lily, but his mind was elsewhere and she knew it. Every one of the teachers knew something was wrong, but as usual, they didn't seem to care. The only exception to this being Dumbledore, but he told the Headmaster that he just didn't feel like talking about it, despite having come to respect the old man a lot more than he had in the past. After two days of this continued behavior he finally decided to talk to Lily and Remus, the two people he felt could actually understand how he felt. Remus told Lily that he would likely understand better than she did, given what he goes through with his condition, so she just sat next to Severus, offering support should he need it. 

"Is this about your strange, depressive behavior these past couple days?" Remus asked. 

Severus nodded. "Yeah, I got a letter from Inias explaining what I had asked of him and even more." He handed over the letter and they both read it. Remus immediately voiced what he was sure Severus would be thinking. 

"Let me guess, you feel like you are helpless, that you can't do anything to stop it from happening now that you found out he has been planning for so long?"

"Exactly, Remus. I thought my power was unlocked so I could stop it, but turns out I don't think I can. Good people are going to die, Remus."

"Yes, Sev, they are. Inias was right things will go bad and you are right, you cannot stop it. But what can you do? You can be there to fight him when things eventually do go bad. You want to blame somebody for your lack of knowledge, blame Amara and not yourself. She was trying to protect you and keep you from this for just a little longer, but she should have known that you would not be okay with that. I believe she had good intentions, but she came about it in the wrong way." 

Severus did not respond, so Remus continued "I know how that feels every day. I am a werewolf and I despise it. When you told me you cannot cure it, I was upset because I would be stuck with this condition forever. The only difference between you and me, you were born with what you have even if it was sealed away most of your life. It is not painful for you to use your magic, unlike my monthly transformations. I was infected with Lycanthropy at just five years old because my father was an idiot and pissed off the most vicious werewolf out there. Blaming yourself for someone else's mistakes is not healthy, Severus. I wrote the book on that one. You may not be able to prevent this from starting, but you will be the one to finish it, mark my words"

"He's right, Sev. People like me are who he is going to target first. I am scared, I won't lie, but I will be by your side when you burn him where he stands or stick that fancy dagger of yours straight through his heart. You won't be alone in resisting him. Inias himself said that he would join the fight when the time came, and you can bet Dumbledore and anyone who supports him will as well. It is better to know what is really going on than to go in blind because what you thought isn't what is," Lily said. 

Shortly after that, Mary came by looking for Remus as predicted. She asked what was going on, but they told her that they had an issue that needed resolving. Remus bid Severus and Lily goodbye before taking Mary's hand and leaving the room. Severus and Lily had stayed right where they were. He pulled her close to him and kissed her hair lovingly as he intertwined their fingers. They did not say anything, they just let themselves enjoy the feeling of being so close to one another. Even when Severus was depressed, he never failed to let Lily know just how much he loved her and how important she was to him. He kissed her hair one last time and said with a whisper:

"I'll be okay, because I have you, my beautiful flower,"


	33. OWLs

The month of June has finally arrived and the time for the OWL exams is now upon them. Severus has no doubt that he will do well, but on a couple of them, Transfiguration being on his mind especially, getting an Outstanding may prove to be difficult. Lily and Remus are also confident in their performance and Damon told him that he wishes to get an Outstanding on everything as he wants to become an Auror in the future. Why he would want that, Severus does not know. He would be doing half of his exams tomorrow and the other half the following day, but wouldn't get the results until sometime over the summer. The next day, however, he found that things may be even easier than he initially thought. On one of his exams, he was asked to give five signs that identify werewolves. Obviously, this wasn't difficult considering one of his closest friends is one. He and Remus cracked a joke on this with him simply saying "one: his name is Remus Lupin and two: he's sitting in my chair." Severus had found that to be pretty funny, although some seemed to really have trouble with the question. Did they not read up on werewolves at the very least? 

The following day, however, is when things would become somewhat eventful. After finishing the final exam for the day, Lily and her friends went outside by the lake to enjoy the fresh air. He saw Remus sitting there as well and went to join them, but was unfortunately stopped by the unfortunate voice of James Potter. 

"Oi, Snivellus!" James said. 

With a groan, Severus turned around. "Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" 

"No, you told me to leave Lily alone and I have done so. You never said anything about me." With that, before Severus could even prepare for it he was hit with a stunner and shot backward several feet, but surprisingly remained conscious. Then before he knew it, he was upside down as if being hung by his ankle with an invisible rope. James was using his own Levicorpus spell against him and that only pissed him off even more. Everyone was now gathered around to watch. Severus attempted to free himself, but suddenly found he was unable to tap into his magic. He looked to Peter Pettigrew who was next to him and saw what he was holding. It was a Celestial magic suppressor. 

"Impressive isn't it, Snivvy? Only four of these exist and once I recognized the signs, I wrote to father and he acquired one to give to me. Without all that power, you're pathetic," everyone was looking at James like he were insane. As far as they knew, Severus wasn't any more powerful than the normal wizard. 

 

Meanwhile, Lily was over by the lake chatting with her friends when she saw Severus get stunned and then hung upside down. At first, she thought he would simply free himself, but after several minutes he hadn't. She saw the strange thing in Peter's hands and then she realized that whatever it was it was blocking his magic. At this point she looked toward her friends and they nodded. They all got up to go stop this and when Lily heard James call Severus pathetic, her blood began to boil. She pulled her wand and quickly advanced. 

"Leave him alone!" she said. Cassandra, Mary, Frank, Alice and Remus all pulled their wands. 

"Aw, cool down Evans. Just giving this greasy git a lesson after all. Power isn't everything and without it he's nothing as you can see," James replied with a nasty smirk. 

"You think you're so cool James? I can't believe I was blind to you for so long. You say you are better than the Death Eaters but in reality you are just as bad as they are. They judge based on blood but you treat Severus like shit just because of what house he is in," Remus said. 

"Last time I am going to say it, Potter. Let Severus down," with that Lily's wand began to glow ominously, but James didn't listen. Everyone else got ready to attack as they were sick and tired of James. Remus looked to Peter and saw what he was holding and with a well placed Disarming charm, he sent it flying and it shattered against the ground. Severus, feeling his power returned, quickly negated the spell with a quick flash of his eyes and he was suddenly on his feet again. James tried to stun him once more, but Severus had pulled his wand to shield himself. He walked over to James and quickly sent him to the ground with a well placed punch and then kicked him several more times in the stomach, ribs and finally the head. He turned to look at everyone else. 

"Now that you have seen what a pathetic little boy Potter is, attacking people off-guard, excuse me while I go and join my beautiful girlfriend and best friend," as he began to walk away he heard James speak and saw him raise his wand again. Severus kicked him once more, this time rendering him unconscious. Several people walked away muttering "pathetic" and he even caught "how disappointing, I thought he would last at least a few more seconds." 

After arriving at the lake, everyone began to talk with one another. Frank spoke to Severus first. 

"So, how do you think you did on your exams, Sev?" 

"I think I did good, for the most part. The only ones I have real doubts about are Herbology and Transfiguration. I feel like I may have screwed that one up," Severus responded. 

"Yeah, I can agree on that one. It has always been a tough subject and hasn't gotten any easier," Cassandra agreed. 

Lily turned to Cassandra "so, how have you been doing? With Remus and Mary's relationship?"

"I manage. It hurts that it isn't me, but at the same time I am happy for you two," she looked at Remus as she said that. 

"I'm sorry about that. You're a good friend, but I just didn't feel that way about you," Remus said. 

"It's okay, I don't blame you," she responded. 

"Tomorrow is our last day. I mean, five years have passed already since we all met. It's crazy to think that. Once we're done with Hogwarts, what does our future hold, do any of you wonder that?" Lily asked. 

"Every day," Frank and Alice said. 

"I live my life day to day mostly. I never know what tomorrow brings," Severus said. 

After the remainder of the day had passed, Severus returned to his common room where he could finally sleep after this hellish day. First with the exams and then with James and Peter attacking him. He was really getting tired of them. Remus left James first and then Sirius. He just won't give up. He ponders Remus' words saying James was just as bad as the Death Eaters. The more he thinks about it the more he realizes the accuracy of this statement. The Death Eaters judge muggles and muggleborns just because of what they are, very much like James judges Slytherins based on what they are. They both judge people over things they cannot control and they both seek out and attack said people because of it. While he doubts James would actually use Dark magic, it is the intent of the magic that matters. After all, Celestial magic isn't dark and Severus could use it to harm or even kill, just like he can use it to heal. With this last thought, he fell asleep, realizing that Remus was absolutely right. James is no better than the Death Eaters despite his hatred for them.


	34. It's Been a Hell of a Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the 34th and final chapter of the first part of this series. I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this. I most certainly have enjoyed writing it. The second part is currently being planned and outlined and I will start posting it sometime next month. Until then, this is 30KEWNE signing off.

The next morning, Severus woke up to the sun shining on his face. Since it is the final day, he best start getting prepared. He tossed all of his text books, his parchment and all other school equipment as well as the Emerald Dagger into his trunk, before warding it. Several hours later, he then left the common room and went to the Headmaster to return his temporary wand, before heading down to the closing feast. As it is a feast he has to sit at his own table, unfortunately. But he and Lily would be able to sit together on the train home. After the feast ended and Dumbledore gave his closing speech and announced that everyone would be getting their exam results in July, they left to board the train. Severus hauled his trunk behind him and he, Remus, Lily and Mary found an empty compartment after changing into their Muggle clothes, which they thought they should do now instead of waiting until the last minute. Severus looked down at Lily, who had her head in his lap and judging from her breathing, she had fallen asleep. He ran his fingers through her hair lovingly, before turning to Remus and Mary. 

"So, what have you guys thought of this year?" he asked. 

"Not much. I deserted Potter who I had been blind to and made a great friend in you, but aside from that, nothing really out of the ordinary from me," Remus responded. 

"Same here at least in terms of schooling. But after starting this year finding out that you and Lily are now dating, and then nearly being raped by that creep Mulciber, which you saved me from, and us condemning him to Azkaban and then me and Remus getting together. I only have one thing to say: it's been a hell of a year." Severus laughed at that, although he kept it quiet as to not wake Lily. 

"Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one. It definitely has been a hell of a year. But it has been the best one of my life, because I am now with the girl I have dreamed of being with since I was nine years old." 

"You two have known each other that long?" Mary asked, surprised. 

"Yeah. We lived within walking distance from each other. I went to a random park just to get away from my abusive father for a little while, and she was there. She thought I insulted her at first when I tried to tell her what she was. She eventually came back and let me explain but her sister, Petunia, was cruel to me and still is as a matter of fact, but I learned not to pay her any mind. Her parents love me and as a matter of fact, I live with them after my real parents' deaths."

Remus already knew of Severus' home life before this year, but Mary did not and she was actually rather surprised. She could not help herself "your father was abusive to you?" She asked. 

"Yeah. He was the worst kind of person. When I first came to Hogwarts, I admit, I was distrustful of Muggles as the one I had in my life at that point was horrible to me. But that's in the past and he's dead now where he can't bother me anymore. I should send the person who killed him a thank you letter. If it weren't for Lily and her family, I no doubt would have become a Death Eater as they were the only people at Hogwarts who seemed to accept me." 

"You would have been miserable there too. They would have exploited your desperation to fit in and they would have used you up until they no longer could and let you rot in Azkaban or allowed you to be killed," Mary said. 

"Lily has said pretty much the same to me before. Last summer when I was making my decision, she didn't know what I was thinking about at the time, but she told me that whatever it was, I should think twice about it and that is what made me reconsider." 

"We are all glad you did. You made the right decision, Sev," Remus said. 

"Yeah, I most definitely did. If you don't mind, I didn't get much sleep last night, so I am going to try to get a couple hours. Wake me up when we're there," and with that he put his hand on Lily's shoulder and laid against the window. Within a few minutes he was asleep. 

Remus and Mary observed Severus and Lily from where they sat. Mary turned to Remus. 

"Aren't they just adorable together?" Mary asked. 

"He loves her very much and he has since they were kids. Even I saw this coming eventually. It would only be a matter of time before they got together, because she had the same feelings for him since possibly second year, he just didn't realize it. I just wish James wasn't so taken over by lust. He doesn't even know the first thing about her and since realizing that Lily would never return his feelings he had gotten worse. He even tried to use me as a weapon to get him out of the way," Remus said. 

"He did that? When?" Mary asked, astounded. 

"Last year. When I was transformed, he and Sirius came up with a plan to tell Severus how to get to me. I think he was more curious than anything else as he assured me that even if the Headmaster hadn't sworn him to silence he wouldn't have exposed me. Anyway, he had no idea what he was walking into and I attacked him. Before I could bite him, James jumped in. He eventually confessed to me that he and Sirius were in on it and that he had gotten cold feet at the last second. The potions incident at the beginning of the year that left Severus with third degree burns, was the deal breaker for me. I ended our association after that." 

"I can't believe he would do that. And to think that I was actually attracted to him at one point in time," Mary said, disgusted. 

"A lot of people were, Mary. He has a good charm, but a rotten personality. I am glad Lily chose Severus over him. She would have been nothing more than a trophy wife if she had been with James, whereas with Severus, she has someone who actually loves her."

Remus and Mary looked into each other's eyes at that very moment. Remus slowly leaned forward and kissed her gently. It was quick, but loving. 

"I don't know if we can necessarily call this love, yet, but I have no doubt in my mind that we will get there," he said. 

Mary nodded and she cuddled into his side. As she looked at Severus and Lily, she had to admit that there was also a time where she wanted to be where Lily is right now, especially after he had saved her from Mulciber. She has Remus now, though and he makes her very happy. He was right, they are falling in love. After some time, the train pulled into King's Cross and she woke up both Severus and Lily. As they got off the train, Lily gave both Remus and Mary a hug. 

"You take care of yourself this summer, Remus. You need anything, you know where to find us." Severus said. 

"You too, Sev," and with that they departed. They went through the barrier where they found John and Violet waiting on the other side. They, for the most part looked the same, only Violet's hair now had a tinge of grey to it. 

"Ready, you two?" Violet asked. 

"I couldn't possibly be any more ready. It's been a hell of a year," Severus responded. 

Lily and Severus put their things in the trunk of Violet's car and they climbed into the back. They intertwined their hands and began to drive away. Severus reflected on the year once more. His and Lily's relationship, Amara, the Emerald Dagger, Inias' Death Eater bombshell, and so much more. That stuff was last year, however, and while he knows most of the stuff that happened will be important for the future, it was time to begin looking forward to starting fresh with a new year.


End file.
